The Return
by RJ Lee
Summary: Love is in the air of NYC. April & Casey' wedding, Leo's met a girl & Mikey's Under the Sea Pizzeria is a hit. But, happiness isn't for everyone. Raph's meddling brings back the love of Donnie's life, but his shattered heart refuses to forgive or trust her again. It doesn't help that Becky's (OC) return also brings a resurgence of the Foot Clan. Can love truly conquer all? Rated M!
1. Prologue

Author's note: This story was originally written before "Love, Lies and Pizza Pies", but after an insane number of flashback scenes it was less confusing to just write an introductory falling-in-love story between Donatello and Rebecca Spiegel (OC). If you are just now coming into the story line, it may be beneficial to read that story first but isn't required.

Prologue:

Beneath the busy New York City streets, three humanoid turtle brothers and their humanoid rat father hid from the normal world, each doing their best pretending they were happy to be unappreciated protectors to the people living above, while also going about their lives as though their family hadn't been ripped apart.

Only, it had been months since any of them could honestly say they were happy. Months since laughter and joy had filled the space of the sewer lair that they called home. Months had passed since they had all been together, a loving father and his four sons, training in the ways of the ninja and trying out new pizza recipes.

Michelangelo plopped down on the living room couch, trying his best to ignore the silence that surrounded him. At a time of the evening when he and his brothers should be getting ready to patrol the streets, they were instead buried deep in their own loneliness, dealing with the emotional pain of life. Leonardo, the appointed leader of the team, went about his nightly workout in the dojo under the supervision of Splinter, the turtles' father and Master. Donatello, the family technological wiz, was locked in his room, the lights out and avoiding his family. Out in the living room, Michelangelo lost himself in the world of fiction, finding solace in superheroes to escape the unhappiness surrounding him.

Though he remembered that Splinter had asked them all to train tonight, he decided to ignore the request. If Donatello and Raphael weren't forced to be there, he shouldn't be either. Besides, if there was anything the brothers should be doing, it would be locating Raphael who had taken off on a self proclaimed mission months ago and hadn't checked in for weeks. Shaking his head, Michelangelo picked up another comic book, forcing his thoughts to stray from his real world problems and focus on the latest adventures of Captain Hero and the Sidekick Kid.

A shuffling sound caught his attention and Michelangelo looked up from his comic book as Donatello moved like a zombie down the hallway and into the kitchen. Intrigued by the rare appearance of his brother into the world, Michelangelo put the comic book down on the coffee table. Rolling off of the couch and landing on his feet, he followed Donatello into the kitchen. The past few months had taken their toll on Donatello, and Michelangelo worried that his brother was still in a deep depression, despite his constant protests to the contrary.

Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, Michelangelo eyed his brother carefully as Donatello stared blankly into the refrigerator. "The milk is expired, if that's what you're looking for. I haven't thrown it out yet," Michelangelo said, keeping his voice low. Donatello continued to stare into the emptiness of the fridge, making no movements to reach for an item or to shut the door. Michelangelo closed his eyes, fearful that his brother was lost in his own world and beyond reach. Sucking in then releasing a deep breath, he tried to get past the darkness in Donatello's mind. "She's not in there," he said softly, hoping to not set his brother on a downward spiral of despair. Again.

Slamming the refrigerator door hard enough to shake the floor, Donatello narrowed his eyes at his youngest brother. "I wasn't even thinking of her!"

Michelangelo leaned against the counter, a look of worry creasing his forehead. "Yes, you were. You're always thinking of her. Why aren't you out there with Raphael trying to find her?"

"Why!" Donatello spat out, anger washing over his face. "Because she left eleven months ago! She's not coming back. She made that abundantly clear when she ripped out my heart, threw it on the ground and did the Mexican Hat Dance on it. She's never coming back, Mikey. NEVER! You'd be better off forgetting about her, too."

Donatello shoved past Michelangelo. A few moments later, the echo of a slamming door filled the lair, causing him to jump from the sound. Michelangelo whirled back around planning to head back to the solitude of the couch and his comic book when he smacked right into the chest of his eldest brother, Leonardo.

Feeling guilty for sneaking up on his brother, Leonardo held out his arms, helping Michelangelo regain his balance and to keep him from tipping over. With a stern look, Leonardo shook his head solemnly at his baby brother. "You shouldn't have said that to him."

Michelangelo looked down at his feet. "I know. It's just that… Leo, he's been going around like a zombie for months now. Ever since he stopped looking for her, it's like he's lost himself. Our whole family is nothing but a giant mess! Becky's gone, Raph's out chasing after a shadow and Donatello's lost in his own mind. I want our family back together!" The tears escaped his eyes before he could force them back. He hated himself for losing his cool in front of his brother, but the agony of loneliness had finally gotten the better of him and he couldn't hold back any longer. Before Michelangelo knew what was happening, Leonardo had pulled him into his arms and hugged him.

"It's gonna be okay, Mikey. It's just going to take a little more time."

Choking on his tears, Michelangelo shook his head. "But I'm sick of waiting."

Suppressing a sigh, Leonardo released his hold on his brother. "Yeah, me too. I think the time has arrived that I finally step in and made some long over-due changes around here. First order of business, find Raphael and drag his butt back here, whether he likes it or not."

Michelangelo sniffled as he stepped back from his brother. "And how are you going to do that?"

Leonardo looked over his shoulder in the direction of Donatello's room. "By forcing Donnie to get over himself and help me."

Michelangelo followed his brother's gaze and shivered. "I think I'll leave that one to you."

"Thanks," Leonardo said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He turned back to look at Michelangelo, but the turtle was already back on the couch, the comic book in front of his face once more. Sucking in a deep breath for courage, Leonardo trudged down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Not bothering to knock, he pushed open Donatello's bedroom door. "I need your help, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

With his helmet upon his head, and his leather jacket zipped tightly around his body, Raphael whizzed down the road, then through a field in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, literally into the small town of Nowhere.

"What the hell would anyone be doing in a place like this?" Raphael muttered to himself, revving the engine of his motorcycle to kick into a higher gear. He'd been following the trail for weeks now, and thanks to some tips from weary travelers, his search had brought him to good old Oklahoma, the last place he ever would have thought to look for a missing New Yorker.

Pulling to a stop on a gravel road, Raphael tossed the helmet onto the seat before making his way towards a gathering of trees overlooking a small shack. A quick look around revealed that other than the shack, a small garden, and the trees, there was nothing, absolutely nothing, around them.

Before he could form a plan to get close enough to the shack to peek inside, Raphael's eyes blinked as he watched the door of the shack slam open and a small feminine figure dressed in all black slink out of the structure, a shot gun planted firmly against one shoulder and her finger ready to squeeze the trigger. Sinking back into the trees, Raphael hoped that both he and his motorcycle were hidden enough to keep out of her line of fire.

Staying as still as he could, he observed as the girl looked around the forested area. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, but the look of the gun in her hand assured him that whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. Taking care to stay out of sight, Raphael rocked back on his heels as he watched the girl lift up the gun and with four shots, take down two drones that he hadn't noticed flying well above her. Seeing her lower the gun and turn back towards the shack, he braved a few steps closer to inspect the damage. From where he stood, he thought he saw a Foot emblem among the debris. Unable to stop himself, he knelt down in the grass to inspect one closer, unsure why Foot Drones would be all of the way out in Oklahoma. There was no doubt about it as he picked up a piece of metal from the fallen drone. This was definitely the foot's handy work, and whoever that girl was, she'd managed to take out the cameras as well as the motors.

Her foot steps were so quite that she was already standing beside him before he noticed she'd turned back around. Before he could share his reverence of the girl, he felt her hands wrap around his wrist and bring him over her shoulder to drop him on his shell. His eyes darted to her hands, relief washing over him as he realized she didn't have a gun in her hand. As the girl landed against the ground to jam her elbow into his rib cage, a sudden glimpse of realization flashed in her eyes. With a mild curse, she scrambled back to her feet. Covering her face, she quickly ran back toward the open door of the shack and away from the mutant turtle lying in her front yard.

Raphael leaped to his feet, once again proving that a turtle on his back was not always the end of the world. In a flash he was between the girl and the door. Knowing there was no means of escape, a heavy sigh released from the girl's mouth as she stared the hot headed turtle down, his eyes blazing back at her. Raphael looked at the girl taking in her down turned mouth. He didn't blink despite the glare on her face being strong enough to melt the skin off of a lesser man or turtle.

"What?" she snapped at the turtle, anger and annoyance boiling in her voice.

Even behind the anger, the bright blue of her eyes was unmistakable, though the sparkle he once had known had died. Unable to stop himself, Raphael's eyes brimmed with tears as he folded the girl into his arms and pulled her tightly against his chest. "Becky. I can't believe it's you." Hugging the girl tighter, he couldn't help but notice the rigidness of her body, but he didn't let it stop him. Nothing short of the end of the world could have stopped him. After all this time, he'd found her. Rebecca Faye Spiegel was alive and well.

Nearly a year had passed since Rebecca had run out on the turtles, without any explanation at all. She'd left all of her belongings behind, including her cell phone-which Donatello had chipped with a tracking device after she'd been kidnapped one too many times by the foot and the turtles sworn enemy, The Shredder.

After her disappearance, the two turtles, along with their brothers had searched the entire city for any trace of her, but she was long gone. As the months faded away, the turtles one by one slowly lost hope that she would return to the family that loved her. Donatello had taken it the hardest, allowing any promise he once felt of her return to turn into bitterness and anger. No longer had Donatello taken any interest in computers or gadgets or inventions that had once been his life. The last few months led to heated arguments with all of his brothers, his Master Splinter and his human friends Casey Jones and April O'Neil. Even Raphael, who had always been known as the hothead, seemed mild and tame compared to the new found hatred lurking inside of the once mild Donatello.

But maybe, just maybe, the old Donatello would return and life would seem less awful, because here in front of Raphael was the one person in the world that both brothers cared for more than anything in the world. Dear, sweet Becky was found and could return back to the sewer lair, and life would be able to return back to normal, or as close to normal as it had ever been for the four mutant turtles.

Only, Rebecca was no longer the dear, sweet innocent girl Raphael had once confided in, and not-so-secretly fallen madly in love with. As he sat in a broken wooden chair in the small shack that housed a small futon, two wooden kitchen chairs, and nearly as much work out equipment as the turtle's dojo, he realized that the angry redhead was no longer the adorable brunette that had captured the hearts of his entire family. The girl from the past had sparkling blue eyes, the color of the ocean, and long dark brown hair with curls begging to be touched. That girl's heart had been filled with laughter and love. Now, the girl before Raphael, kicking the punching bag chained to the ceiling showed only hatred in her movements. Her eyes were darker, more sinister; her once long hair now chopped off and dyed a blood red. Even the friendly voice of a happy girl in love was replaced by a monotone of annoyance and bitterness.

Raphael stared hard at his friend, watching as the newly formed muscles in her arms and legs stressed against a vigorous workout, and his heart sank with worry. This girl showed battle scars, inside and out, and based upon the way she'd handled the drones, she'd had lots of practice over the last few months.

Wanting to kick himself for not being there to protect her, Raphael stood up, reaching out for the girl who had once found comfort in his arms, only to watch as her entire body tensed as his fingers lightly brushed against her shoulder. "Don't touch me," she snarled. He chose to ignore her.

Wrapping his hands around her wrists, he twirled her around to face him. "What happened to you, Becky?"

Her teeth ripped into her bottom lip as she bit down, causing it to split open and bleed. "I grew up. I left a fantasy behind, and found the real world. I'll admit it kicked my fucking ass for awhile, but I learned. And I kicked back." Her voice never softened, never wavered, and that scared him. Her drop of the f-word bothered him even more as the girl he once knew would never had said such a thing without an embarrassed blush forming upon her cheeks.

Shaking his head at her, he made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Donnie would have a cow if he heard you talk like that."

"Donnie can fucking bite me," she spat, her eyes narrowing in on him.

Growling, Raphael roughly placed a hand on each of her shoulders, forcing her to look him square in the eye. "Don't you ever say that again. I don't know what your problem is, but don't ever say that about the man you love." His heart ached from those words as he acknowledge her love was not meant for him, but he knew they had to be said to remind her of what she'd left behind.

"Love is bullshit." Her eyes remained locked on his, and she jutted out her jaw, almost as though she were challenging him. Not the smartest thing she'd ever done. Then again, nothing she'd said or done seemed overly intelligent anymore. Raphael decided it was time to change her attitude, and she wasn't going to like his approach. He didn't care.

Before she could take another breath, Raphael lurched towards her to pin her body between him and the wall, his hand balled into a tight fist inches away from her face. She remained rigid, her eyes never leaving his gaze. "What the hell happened to you, Rebecca? How did you become such a heartless, uncaring bitch?"

A grin that reminded Raphael way too much of The Shredder's when he had once slammed his brother Michelangelo's body to the ground spread across her face. He flinched, terrified of her reaction. "Trust me, I learned from the best." She kicked her leg out, sweeping an unprepared Raphael to his knees. Using both hands, she pushed against the turtle with the full weight of her body. Regaining his sound mind, his arms wrapped around her wrists again and he pulled her down on top of him. Then, in a sudden movement, he switched angles, slamming her back into the mat below them, once again pinning his body against hers. Had he not been so frustrated with the girl, he would have found their closeness a fantasy come true.

Warmth brushed his shoulder as angry breaths escaped her flared nostrils. He felt the hardness of her entire body as she tensed, and he saw the hatred in her eyes as she narrowed them in anger. Part of him wanted to throttle her, another part wanted to kiss her and take her right there on the floor. He swallowed both thoughts away.

Using a voice as rough as gravel, he offered a warning. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you can be damn sure I'm not going to put up with it much longer. I don't care if you are my best friend; I will have no problem knocking you on your ass to get you to calm the fuck down."

A growl escaped her lips as she jerked her head up, knocking her forehead into his. His anger flared and he bowed his head into hers, harder than she'd hit him. He watched as her eyes glazed over and she fell back into unconsciousness. Finally, his hard head had been good for something. Releasing his grip, he rolled off of the girl, staring at her face. Carefully lifting her body, he placed her on the futon, and reached into his belt pocket, his fingers touching cold metal.

Rebecca wasn't sure how long she'd been out, or how many times her mind replayed the happier memories of just one short year ago in her mind, but when she awoke, she found her wrists handcuffed to the futon, and one hell of a headache that caused a loud, constant ringing in her ears.

Groaning, she tried to sit up, but between the handcuffs and the dizziness, she decided better of it, and fell back against the pillow under her head. Blinking her eyes open, the blurry image of a turtle with a black eye sitting in a chair beside her came into view. With his hands folded neatly in his lap, he looked over the girl.

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at her. "I will give you one more chance to explain to me just what the hell is wrong with you before I take this entire futon with you still on it and toss it in the river."

"What?" Rebecca asked, her voice finally softening to a more feminine tone.

Raphael shifted in the chair, bringing his hands down to her shoulders. "Tell me why you've become the wicked bitch of the midwest."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, instantly regretting the movement as nausea swam through her head and stomach, forcing her eyes shut. She had no idea how she could ever begin to explain to him all of the problems in her life, all of the misery and pain since she'd left her friends, her family, her entire life behind. And she most certainly wouldn't tell him her dark secret that had caused her to flee New York in the first place.

The sound of metal clinking against metal caught her attention. Deciding the pain in her head was still too much, she didn't bother trying to sit up. Turning her gaze back to the turtle, she let out a long sigh, opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, unsure of the words. After a short pause, and the impatient tapping of Raphael's foot, she finally risked a question. "Where on earth did you get handcuffs?"

A wicked grin flashed across his face as he leaned back in his chair. "I've had these for years. Always have had a little fantasy of you handcuffed to a bed, but for a completely different reason."

Pursing her lips, she stopped herself from rolling her eyes again and instead glared at him. "Why did you come here?"

"Hey, I'm the one asking the questions here. Why did you run away?"

This time she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes, and the queasiness in her stomach returned. Lying back against the pillow, she closed her eyes. "I won't answer that. I won't answer a lot of things."

She heard the squeak of the chair as he stood, then felt the sinking movement of the futon as he sat beside her. His hand slowly slipped into hers but she didn't try to pull away. "Well that's a shame, because I came here for answers." He squeezed her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to squeeze back. "Come back to New York." The gravelly tone in Raphael's voice made the request sound more like a demand.

"That would be a mistake. There's nothing left for me out there anymore. My life is here."

He growled at her. Gesturing his free hand around the small room to try to make a point, his eyes never left her face as he shook his head in her direction. "How is this a life, Rebecca? You're living in isolation, and avoiding the outside world. That's not you. You deserve better than this. Come back to New York with me."

She looked up into his pleading eyes seeing past the hurt to something more. Was it hope? Hell, she couldn't let that happen. With a deep breath, she began to speak as vaguely as possible. "If I did go back, I wouldn't return to the lair," she replied. "Or even to my old apartment. In fact, if I were to go back to New York, I wouldn't even tell you or any of the others where I was staying."

Lowering his head to be closer to hers, he nearly whispered his response. "And why the hell not?"

"Safety."

Raphael's heart sank. He'd remembered all too well each and every time she'd been forced into a fight with the Foot, or taken back to their hideout to face the Shredder, alone. It was because of her friendship with the turtles that her life was now in danger, and the realization that it was truly his and his brothers fault that she'd turned into an anger- filled, fighting machine. She'd had to, to save herself from their enemies, who were now hers.

A small part of him regretted his brothers ever agreeing to help her move into April and Casey's apartment building two years ago. Had they not helped her, the girl would have never met any of them, the foot wouldn't have seen her on a date in the park with Donatello, and they would have left her alone. She'd be free to be a regular twenty-six year old woman, instead of a broken hearted, hunted woman. But it was too late for that. The past couldn't be changed.

Clearing his throat, he softened his voice trying to remain calm for her sake. "You'd be safer at the lair. We'd be able to protect you."

Her eyes fluttered open, and the paleness of the blue struck him. "I didn't mean my safety," she whispered so softly, he wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. Using his confusion as a diversion, she yanked her hand away from his, a feat made more difficult by the shackles against her wrist. Taking pity on her, Raphael pulled a key from his belt and released her from the handcuffs. Placing her hands on the futon for balance, she forced herself into an upright position, and stared hard at the turtle. "It's not safe for you, or Mikey, or Leo or Splinter, or... Donnie." As she said the final name of the turtle she'd once loved, that she'd left behind a broken hearted mess with no explanation, she couldn't hold back the tears that she'd fought off for so many months.

The sudden tears surprised her, but were welcomed as she finally let herself feel everything she'd avoided since flying out to Oklahoma to leave everyone she cared about behind. She didn't even fight Raphael as he pulled her into his arms, holding her sobbing against his chest, his hand softly running through her hair as he tried to comfort her. Through her sobs, she could hear muffled words coming from the turtle, but her brain refused to string the sounds together into coherent words. Instead, she was lost in the memory of the life she once had, a memory she held on to as her sobs trailed off, and she found herself lost in sleep after the exhaustion of finally breaking down.

Raphael refused to let the girl go as she drifted off to sleep. He couldn't let her go, not ever again. Keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her, he carefully fell back on the futon, holding her body against his. It had been so long, too long, since he'd last touched her, and every inappropriate thought he'd ever had involving her rushed back to him. But he'd known all along that she would never be his, and hearing her voice crack as she whispered his brother's name had only reinforced the fact that he'd come to accept so long ago. She still loved Donatello, even if she were too stubborn to admit it.

His phone vibrated against his sai, and he reached into the pocket of his belt to pull it out. As though he'd known his name had been spoken, Donatello's avatar appeared on the Caller ID. Becky shifted slightly on Raphael's chest, but remained asleep as Raphael clicked the icon to answer the call.

"Hey, Don," Raphael whispered, keeping his voice quiet, trying to hide his true emotions from his brother and to keep from waking the sleeping girl in his arms.

An annoyed growl came over speaker of the phone. "Leonardo's worried about you so he has me checking up on you. Would you mind telling me where you've been the past few weeks and why the GPS on your motorcycle has you pinpointed to some place in the middle of Oklahoma?"

Looking down at the sleeping redhead on his chest, Raphael said the only words that came to mind. "Keep your shell on. I'm bringing our girl home."


	2. Chapter 1

_Six Months Later_

A sai flew through the air of the Turtle's sewer lair as Michelangelo dodged out of Raphael's path, sticking his tongue out at his hot tempered brother. The two turtles had been sparring for a solid hour in the training room and Raphael was growing impatient with his baby brother's lame attempts at banter. As the sai crashed against the stone wall, Leonardo glared at the two turtles entering the room, not at all happy that he was rudely awakened from his meditative state.

"Can't the two of you take your fighting back into the Dojo?" he asked not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. His eyes focused on Raphael's sai, now on the floor between himself and the still meditating rat, Splinter. "And take your little toys with you before you hurt someone."

"Toys?" Raphael spat, raising his eyes at his brother. "These here are state of the art sai that could kick your ass in a minute with those oversized carving knives you carry around."

Michelangelo leaned over Leonardo's shoulders, reaching around his brother to pick up the sai from the ground and twirled it in his hand. "Looks like glorified gardening utensils to me." Flashing a grin at his brother, he moved the sai in the air like a gardening trowel. Leonardo did his best to stifle a laugh.

Charging through the living room, Raphael vaulted over the couch, nearly taking out Donatello in the process. Doing his best to stay out of the fight, Donatello picked up the magazine that had fallen from his hands and used it to shield his eyes to avoid the scene of violence about to take place. With a huff, Raphael swung his balled up fist toward Michelangelo, who quickly ducked out of the way, taking the sai with him. Raphael chased after his baby brother, catching him by the arm then pulling him into a head lock. The ringing of the sewer bell caught their attention, catching Raphael off guard, allowing Michelangelo to slip out of his brother's grip.

Running towards the gate, Michelangelo couldn't help but turn back around to shoot a self-satisfied grin in Raphael's direction. Rolling his eyes, Raphael crossed his arms in anger but didn't bother moving.

Closing in on the gate, Michelangelo flipped the lock open. "Who's there?" he asked happily, knowing full well that either one of his human friends, April O'Neil or Casey Jones would respond. The turtles didn't get many visitors in the old sewer lair, and any enemies would have just pushed their way through the door without ringing the bell.

"Who do you think?" April's voice called, her tone much too sweet and sugary. As Michelangelo opened the gate, April bounded into the lair, a smile plastered on her face wide enough to show every tooth in her mouth. As she bounced up and down, her shoulder length red hair bounced along with her, getting caught in the brown leather jacket she wore over a yellow t-shirt. Casey followed wearing a pair of jeans and a button up shirt instead of his usual sweat pants and gray t-shirt. His long black hair was clean and neatly gelled on top of his head, and his smile almost matched Aprils, causing Michelangelo to give him a funny look.

Splinter's gravelly voice filled the air as he brought himself out of his meditative trance from where he sat beside Leonardo. His eyes grew wide and a smile crossed his face. "Congratulations are in order," he said, looking at the couple as they entered his view.

Leonardo jumped to his feet, and was joined by Donatello and the others to surround April and Casey. "What do you mean Master Splinter?" he asked looking back at the rat in utter confusion.

Casey cleared his throat, shot an odd look toward April who nodded back at him and cleared his throat again. "He means, I asked April to marry me!" April held up her hand, showing off the shiny diamond ring that now adorned her left ring finger, and released a small squeal of delight.

Raphael grabbed Casey around the shoulders with one arm, rubbing his fist from his free hand into Casey's skull. "So I take it the big smile on her face means, she turned you down, huh big guy?"

Casey grabbed Raphael's arm, and pulled him around just in time to see a confused Rebecca Spiegel enter the den. Casey quickly released the turtle and nodded in her direction to make the others aware of her sudden appearance. Raphael looked up first, the smile fading from his face when he saw her, not sure how she would take the happy news.

Raphael looked her over, relieved to see that she was resembling the girl he'd first met, and not the hate filled monster he'd found in Oklahoma. Over the last six months, the blood red dye had washed out of her hair, and the brown curls were back down to her shoulders. Though she rarely left her room, her skin was definitely less ashy than it had been when Raphael had found her and forced her back to New York, only partially against her will and back into the sewer lair, which was on the wrong side of the kidnapping borderline. Luckily, it had only taken two months of Raphael treating her like a hostage to get her to give up trying to escape.

"Um, hey Becky," Michelangelo said, noticing the girl entering the room.

She gave the turtle a slight wave for a greeting but didn't look in his direction. "What's going on?" Becky asked, worry and confusion in her voice. Her gaze focused from Raphael over to the happy human couple, down to Splinter and Leonardo then to Michelangelo before landing back on Raphael. As had become customary, she made sure to avoid looking at Donatello. Even after six months, she still couldn't bring herself to look at him, which didn't bother him since he'd had nothing nice to say to her since she'd come back anyway.

April squealed again breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen around them. April's hand rose higher in the air to reach above Leonardo's head so Becky could get a good view of the ring. "We're getting married!" Her voice raised a few octaves, echoing throughout the tunnels of the sewer lair.

"Wow, it's about time," Becky said, a smile appearing on her face. She walked over to her friend, grabbing April's hand in hers. "Check out that diamond. Good job, Casey. I'd love to have a rock that nice on my finger." She winced as the words left her mouth, instantly regretting them.

She felt even worse when she heard Donatello mutter a curse word behind her then very clearly say "I hope you kept the receipt." Becky refused to turn around, but could feel the hard stare Donatello was throwing against her back as he undoubtedly replayed the night she turned down his proposal in his mind. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Leonardo shoot a warning glare at his brother. Keeping her eyes down, she shook her head in Leonardo's direction and he quickly dropped the glare.

"This is truly great news you guys," Leonardo said, trying to keep the tone in the room positive and happy. Taking two steps to his right, he placed himself directly between Donatello and Becky, somehow easing the tension in the room.

Raphael once again grabbed Casey around the shoulder, but much more carefully this time around. "So, Case. Who gets to be your best man? I mean, best turtle?" Raphael used his free hand to point toward himself, a hopeful grin plastered across his face.

Casey looked around the lair, his finger pointing from each turtle to the next before he smiled, grabbed Raphael's arm and shoved his fist into the top of the turtle's skull. "Of course it's gonna be you, Bro. If it weren't for you, I may never have even met April." The two men embraced in a rarely seen hug, then quickly pulled themselves out of it realizing that they had an audience staring at them. "I mean, yo Raph, wanna be my best man?" With a quick fist bump the two sealed the deal before quickly stepping away from each other.

"And with that bromance moment aside, Becky, I would love it if you were my maid of honor." April looked over at her human friend, her brown eyes looking hopeful.

"Of course," Becky screamed as her arms wrapped around April in a tight hug. The others joined in with hugs and pats of congratulations, with the exception of Donatello who stepped further back from the group, unable to muster even an ounce of happiness for his friends. The anger he'd held on to for so long came back, but this time in the form of jealousy and he was too hurt to join in on the celebration of love in front of him.

April looked around at her friends. The smile on her face faded into a look of sheer panic as she held up her hands and started ticking tasks off on her fingers. "Oh my gosh, there is so much to do! I have to pick a dress, figure out flowers and a location. Figure out color schemes, invitations and a caterer. Oh, and then I have to pick out a cake, a band, bridesmaid dresses."

"Nothing too hideous!" Becky piped in.

Smiling, April shook her head. "I make no promises." With the ultimate pouty face, Becky looked straight into April's eyes. April just laughed causing Becky to smile at her.

"Well the only thing I care about," Casey began, "is the Bachelor Party."

"Yeah!" Raphael & Michelangelo cheered, slapping each other a high-three. "Babes, booze and bachelors!" Raphael said, giving a high five to Casey. Leonardo rolled his eyes at his brothers while Donatello, having zero interest in a bachelor party, continued to ignore all of them.

"Strippers baby!" Casey yelled with double fist pumps in the air, doing his best to ignore the evil glare from his fiancé while Raphael & Michelangelo cheered again.

Splinter shook his head at his sons. With a shrug, he looked over at April. "I suspect your bachelorette party will be much more dignified, my dear?"

April smiled at Becky. "But of course, a nice little tea party with my closest friends…"

"… and two of the hottest male strippers in New York City," Becky completed. The girls high fived one another, then crossed their arms to stare back at Casey and the turtles who were now staring at them with their mouths gaped wide open.

"What? Girls aren't allowed to have any fun?" April asked.

Casey stammered. "Well. I guess. I just never thought of you as wanting that kind of wild party, April. Just took me a little by surprise."

April opened her mouth to respond, but the conversation was quickly muted as a loud thump outside the gate of the lair caught all of their attention. Casey pulled April back toward him unsure of who might be joining them. As though instinct took over Donatello reached over and grabbed Becky's arm, pulling her away from the gate. He quickly dropped her arm as though it were on fire as soon as she was out of harm's way, and he looked away before her eyes could meet his. Even looking at the floor, he could feel those bright blue eyes looking at him in confusion.

The air shifted as Leonardo's sword flew from the sheath on the turtle's shell toward the gate but was quickly brought back down as a woman in her late twenties stepped into the lair. Dressed in a Karategi with her long brown hair pulled into a tight pony tail at the nape of her neck, Corrine Takeda's dark brown eyes flashed fear as she came face to face with the eldest turtle brother. She jumped back, a bit startled from the metal blade so close to her head.

"Do not swipe!" she yelled, her arms flying above her head in surrender. "I come in peace."

A collective sigh washed over the group as Leonardo re-sheathed his sword. "I'm sorry Sweetheart," he said, taking the girl by the hand. "I wasn't expecting you so early today." He gently kissed the girl's cheek and wrapped her into a hug.

Raphael groaned at the gratuitous display of affection before rolling his eyes in Becky's direction causing her to giggle. Of all of the changes that Becky found when Raphael had forced her back to the lair, the fact that Leonardo had found himself a human girlfriend, or even a girlfriend at all, was by far the most surprising. Though she'd figured Donatello wouldn't be the only turtle to find love in the human world, she had never once thought Leonardo to be the next to fall for a human, or for anyone for that matter. She'd been so caught up in her own misery that she realized she didn't even know how the two had met. She made a quick mental note to ask Raphael the next time they were alone together.

Becky looked on in amusement as Leonardo held Corrine next to him, a look of both love and protection washing over his face. Kicking an imaginary rock on the ground, Becky fought the urge to look behind her toward Donatello, suddenly missing the way he'd once had the same look on his face any time she would enter the room. Now, his glares were deadly and his words often coated in poison. She couldn't blame him, she knew she'd hurt him, but she'd hoped that eventually he would be able to at least talk to her again.

"April and Casey just announced their engagement," Leonardo said, his eyes shining as he looked at the girl in his arms. Corrine smiled, a small blush forming across her cheeks while she secretly hoped Leonardo wasn't getting any crazy ideas of his own.

Casey wrapped his arm around April's waist, pulling her closer. "Yeah, this little lady is mine forever now."

Turning her head, April kissed Casey causing more groans from Raphael and Michelangelo. "Get over it," Casey said.

"Hey that is great news you guys," Corrine said with a slowly fading smile. "But I am afraid I may have to ruin this special moment." She lowered her eyes, slightly pulling away from Leonardo. "I came to warn you that the Shredder has come out of hiding."

Splinter turned toward Corrine, his paw reaching up to touch the young woman's hand. "The Shredder and his army of Foot Ninjas have not been seen in many months. Are you sure, my child?"

Corrine swallowed hard as she nodded at the kind rat. "I am positive. Some of the students from my dojo came in today to tell me they had been recruited by a group of martial artists who definitely fit the description of the foot clan.

Raphael rubbed the back of his head. "I guess that means he finally came up with a new plan of destruction and is looking for new minions. Fabulous."

A sudden sense of dread washed over Becky, her hand instinctively covering her left arm. Even though the long sleeved shirt she wore covered the scar completely, she still worried that somehow they could see through her deception. The tracking device that the Shredder had implanted in her arm nearly a year ago still bothered her, and though she'd tried her best to disarm it, she couldn't figure out how to do it completely, though she'd significantly lowered its range. To completely destroy or remove it, she needed an electronics genius to help her out, but the only one she knew was no longer friendly toward her. Besides, if he found out about the device, he'd ask other questions that she wouldn't be able to answer without revealing the one secret that would have her kicked out of all of their lives forever.

Shifting restlessly from guilt, Becky pulled herself away from the group. Grabbing her jacket off of the hook by the gate, she hoped she could sneak away without being noticed. A two-toed green foot blocked her path, and she looked up to see Raphael standing between her and the gate. "Where you goin'?" he asked.

Carefully side stepping him, she headed out the gate, thankful he didn't put up much of a fight. "I need some air. I'll be back soon." Without looking back, or waiting for a response, she broke into a run down the sewer pipes leading away from the lair.

The turtles and their human friends watched Becky run off, as the reminder that the Shredder and the Foot Clan were back in action clouded their minds. "Should we go after her Master?" Leonardo asked, turning toward his sensei and father. Splinter turned away from his eldest son, instead focusing his gaze toward his second eldest. Donatello quickly turned away, not wanting to see the look of disappointment in his father's eyes.

Splinter placed a gentle paw on Donatello's arm. "My son, you must learn the art of forgiveness." Donatello raised his head to meet Splinter's gaze. He nodded once, then grabbed a remote control from the coffee table before retreating silently to his workshop.

Raphael sighed as he reached out for his coat and hat. "I'm going after her then." As soon as the words left his mouth, all eyes were on him. "I don't want her alone with the Shredder back out there." Without waiting for someone to agree to go with him or try to talk him out of it, he pushed his way past his friends and out of the gate.

As the crowd began to disperse into different parts of the lair, Leonardo pulled Corrine against his chest, his hand gently pushing her bangs away from her face. "That goes for you too, Corrine. I think you need to stay down here with us for a little while so I can keep an eye on you. I want to make sure you're safe."

Corrine let out a laugh, but quickly pulled herself back together. "I have managed just fine this long without your protection," she reminded him. She smiled as a look of hurt splashed across his face. "But yes, I can remain down here with you for a few days."

Leonardo's smile returned, and he gently pulled Corrine's head closer as he kissed her lips. "Aw, true love," Michelangelo called from his position next to the couple. Both Leonardo and Corrine turned to glare at the youngest turtle. Michelangelo's cheeks reddened as he yanked his own jacket and hat from the wall. "Um, hey Raph. Wait for me!" he called, knowing full well that there was no way his brother could have possibly heard him.


	3. Chapter 2

The clouds in the sky blocked most of the sun's light, with rain clouds threatening to unleash their fury. Happy to not be attacked by the happiness of sunshine, Becky sat alone on a park bench, her eyes lowered to the ground, her hand wrapped tightly around her arm still shielding the scar hidden under her shirt sleeve. Biting into her lip, her mind replayed the moments of the tracking device being implanted in her arm, the mad rush back to the sewer to say goodbye to her friends, and the look of horror as she had declined Donatello's marriage proposal and instantaneously destroyed her one shot at a happily ever after. Anger and hatred filled her heart as the thought of the Foot resurfacing came to her.

Of course they would return on what should have been one of the happiest days of her friends' lives. They should be out celebrating April & Casey's good news, not getting ready to take on their enemies again. It had to be her fault that Shredder and his flunkies were making their reemergence, she just knew it. Lost in her negative emotions she didn't notice the man dressed all in black sitting next to her under he cleared his throat.

"Your uncle has been looking for you for months, Ms Spiegel," the man said in an unthreatening tone. "I believe he's a bit hurt you returned to New York without coming by for a visit."

His voice caused her to jump but she refused to look up, knowing full well that a high ranking Foot Soldier would be looking back at her. Stupid tracking device working above ground! She couldn't find peace anywhere. "I don't have a damn thing to say to him." She kept her voice flat, doing her best to not show her irritation.

The soldier stood, placing a firm hand on the back of her neck. "He has plenty to say to you. Come peacefully or I will have to take you by force."

Releasing a sigh, Becky quickly surveyed her surroundings. She had done a little too well in finding a secluded place away from people, buildings and cars to sulk and realized too late that her plan was most definitely a mistake. Sighing again, she stood up and walked with the Foot Soldier to the unmarked black van parked on the grass a few feet away. This was definitely the worst best-day ever.

"We've looked everywhere for her," Michelangelo whined, his eyes avoiding Raphael's gaze. He let the back door of the Pizzeria Kitchen slam behind him. His defeated tone masked the fear he felt after not finding Becky at the last place they could think of to search. "It's like she's vanished. Without a trace."

Raphael turned to glare at him. "Mikey, first off, we discussed the lame jokes. Second, if we'd looked everywhere we would have found Becky by now." Putting his fingers against his forehead, he tried to convince himself that the headache forming was from the stress of finding the girl, not from dealing with his baby brother's failed attempts to lighten the mood. "We just need to keep looking."

The turtles turned to head down the alley way, when a smoke bomb stopped them in their tracks. As the smoke cleared, the outlines of two foot soldiers began to take shape in front of them. Grabbing for their weapons, the brothers each let out a growl of disgust. The foot soldiers, each armed with twin blades, faced the turtles. Raphael cracked his neck, twirling his sais in front of him. "Bring it on, assholes."

Before the turtles or the soldiers could leap into an attack, a third foot soldier held down the horn from a black van in the that raced into the alley. "Leave those turtles this time. We already have the girl."

The soldiers quickly retreated behind the building as the black van peeled out from the alley and sped down the street without their fellow goons. Stunned, neither Raphael or Michelangelo moved.

As the shock wore off, clarity washed over Raphael. "Dammit!" he cursed, slamming his sai against the side of the building, not bothering to chase after the foot soldiers who had taken off.

"Becky's the girl, isn't she?" Michelangelo asked, his shoulders slumping. Raphael responded by throwing his other sai past his brothers shoulder and into the side of a lone metal trash can, the clang ringing in both of their ears.

A long exasperated sigh released from Becky's lips as she slumped against the chair she was tied to with sloppy knots. Foot Soldiers were definitely not former Boy Scouts, she mused to herself. Looking around the salvage yard that the foot were know using as a hide out, she couldn't help but admire the care and time Shredder's henchmen had spent organizing the dump. Though, she admitted, the smell of the sewers held way more appeal than the aroma currently offending her nose.

Two Foot Soldiers stood guard around her, but neither had uttered a single word to why she was there, or when their leader would be available to grace them with his presence. Growing impatient, Becky began to tap her foot loudly against the dirt floor beneath her. "How much longer is he going to make me wait? I have a hair appointment at 7:00."

The taller foot soldier rested a hand upon her shoulder. "Please be patient Ms. Spiegel. I don't want to have to hurt you." Becky turned her head up to look at the man with Thor like golden flowing hair. Something about his voice, and the proper use of her name sparked something in her memory, but she was unable to see it clearly.

Becky shook her head, tossing the thoughts aside. Glaring at the Foot Soldiers surrounding her, she narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. "What's his plan this time? Not that it really matters, the turtles will just defeat him. Again."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," a loud voice bellowed from behind her. Squirming in her seat, she was able to angle her head to see the Shredder walking up behind her. Raising her eyebrows, she shot the villain a look of amusement and challenge. He walked around the chair to face her face to face. Pointing toward the back of the flimsy carport they were standing under, he looked at his head soldier with the shampoo commercial worthy locks. "Leave us," he commanded, and his loyal followers quickly obeyed.

Shredder turned to watch them leave, before looking back at the girl tied to a chair. Forcing a smile, he knelt down before her to catch her at eye level. "Ah, dear niece. How wonderful to see you again. It's been so long since we've had a family reunion."

Becky spat into his face, but the wind picked up blowing it away. "Can't say the same, Uncle Cheese Grater."

A small laugh filled the air as Shredder stood up, placing his hands on Becky's shoulders. She instantly tensed at the unwanted closeness. "I see my step-brother was way too busy with his so called business affairs to bother teaching you to respect your elders before his untimely death."

Uncomfortable hearing her enemy bring up her deceased father, Becky shifted in her seat, attempting to break away from his grasp. "What the hell do you want?"

"Bait." He threw the word out in a matter-of-fact tone that explained nothing.

Becky's eyebrows rose once again, confusion registering on her face. She forced her brain to focus, and once again looked around the salvage yard, this time noticing a large gray tarp, similar to the color of duct tape covering an odd shaped object about fifty feet away from them.

"Oh," she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "I get it. You're getting your little fan club back together and want to show off their lack of skills to the turtles. How nostalgic of you!"

Shredder's hands ran down her shoulders, grasping roughly against her arms. "This inadequate tracking device doesn't work under the streets as I'd hoped, so I have not yet had any luck tracking those abominations to their hideout." Gripping hard enough to cause a yelp of pain to release from her throat, he pushed away from her. "For now, all I can do is lure them here to my army by kidnapping you. In a way, this is better. Home court advantage and all."

Becky rolled her eyes, mentally trying to block the sudden burning pain in her upper arm. Shredder bent his head so they were nose to nose. "Oh, where are my manners. How is your precious Donatello these days?"

Trying to leap from her seat, the ropes tied around her wrists and ankles dug into her skin as the anger flared to her cheeks and through her heart. "Fuck you!"

Shredder laughed again, his blackened heart taking joy in the hatred filling his niece's eyes that reminded him all too well of her mother. Before he could edge her closer to a murderous stare, his second in command walked back to the shelter. "They are here, Master," he reported, his eyes locked on to Shedder.

Shredder stood straight, his smile widening. "Ah good. Let the fun begin."

Before Becky could let out a protest or try to kick him again, Shredder lifted the entire chair off of the ground, carrying it to the center of the salvage yard where the fight had already begun. The yard was filled with foot soldiers surrounding four green figures, weapons and curse words flying.

As the chair slammed against the hard ground, Raphael used a downed foot soldier as a ramp, lunging toward the Shredder, his eyes locked on Becky. "Give us the girl!"

The self satisfied grin remained plastered on Shredder's face as he used the sharp edges of his gauntlet to cut through the ropes, releasing Becky from the chair. Grabbing her arm, pressing his thumb roughly against the scar, he pulled the girl from her seat. "This girl is of no consequence to me," he spat out. Pulling her along the ground with his goons moving out of his way, he stopped suddenly and pushed the girl toward the mutant freaks before him, slamming her body into Donatello's, which Becky realized right away he had done intentionally. "You can have her."

Leonardo quickly placed himself between Shredder and Becky as Michelangelo grabbed Becky's arm and pulled her safely behind him. "What are you up to Shredder?" Leonardo asked. The turtle's eyes narrowed on his foe as his mind raced for a logical explanation on why Shredder would have turned his hostage over to them so easily.

"I am just leveling the playing field," Shredder said. "Thanks to my spies, I can keep my eyes on you and know your every move. Now that you've seen my hideout, you may do what you wish."

The turtles raised their weapons again as the four fell into a formation where all of their backs were in a circle, locking Becky safely in the middle and their collective vision on every foot soldier. Shredder raised his arm, and as his soldiers retreated, a cluster of smoke bombs landed around them, covering them all in a screen. The escape of their enemies running away was covered only by the coughs and gags of the four turtles and Becky as the smoke filled their lungs.

"Man, I really hate those things," Michelangelo sputtered.

Leonardo coughed, closing his eyes against the smoke. "What the shell is that creep up to?"

"Fuck if I know." Raphael turned around, his arms flailing about through the smoke, searching for his friend. "Becky? Are you okay?" His fingers brushed against the smooth skin of a human, and he quickly snagged her, pulling her towards him.

"Yeah," she choked out. Keeping her eyes firmly shut, she leaned against his arm, allowing him to shield her from the slowly dissipating smoke.

Donatello swung his bo around, trying to fan the smoke away from him and his family. "What I want to know is what spies of his could possibly do anything right."

"I don't know," Leonardo's voice rasped. "But I intend to find out."

A crash of thunder boomed through the air, releasing a downpour of rain to fall around them. Thankful for the assistance in removing the offending smoke, the group of five blinked their eyes open. Keeping Becky safely in the middle of their circle, the brothers looked around the salvage yard in search of clues of another bombardment. Leonardo held his hand up for everyone to remain quiet as he strained his ears for any sound of their enemies. Assured that all was clear, he lowered his hand and his sword.

Watching his eldest brother, Michelangelo allowed both of his hands to fall to his side, his nunchucks smashing against his thighs. "Dudes, I think the coast is clear."

A look of confusion spread across Leonardo's face as he took a few steps forward, spinning around to take in the full view of the salvage yard. "This doesn't make any sense. He has to be up to something. Why would he bring us out here just to leave us here? Why not make a move?" A loud whirl caught all of their attention, and Leonardo spun on his heels to look behind him.

As he turned, he caught a glimpse of the gray tarp in the corner of the junk yard. Lifting his sword in the direction of the tarp, he silently signaled for his brothers to follow him.

"What the heck is that?" Mikey asked, raising his nunchucks to his shoulders.

As the group moved in, Donatello ran ahead and stuck out his bo, lifting the tarp up to peek underneath. Motioning for his brothers to help, the four worked together to lift the veil to reveal what appeared to be an old airline GPS tracker. In one swift movement, Donatello's bo was placed into its sheath on his back as the turtle sat in the lone stool in front of the machine. "It's a tracking machine," he mused to no one in particular as his fingers danced along switches and buttons. "Whatever it's reading from, its close. Very close."

Fear crept over Becky as her hand instantly covered her upper arm knowing full well what the machine was tracking. Donatello was a genius, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he figured out her secret. If only she could figure out how to disarm the damned thing completely.

Raphael slid his sais back into his belt. "My guess, its tracking one of Shred Heads so called spies." He sauntered out to the middle of the salvage yard, cupped his hands over his mouth like a megaphone and shouted "Come out, come out where ever you are!"

Leonardo and Michelangelo joined their brother, looking around the yard as nothing happened. No sounds, no leaps of foot soldiers, nothing. Scratching his head, Leonardo looked over at Donatello as his finger continued their choreographed dance along the control panel. "Well, if there are spies out there, we'll be ready for them. And we will take them out."

Becky's stomach dropped. Pressing her hand even tighter around her arm, she willed herself not to pass out or throw up. Relief washed over her as she realized that none of the turtles were paying any attention to her.

Leonardo narrowed his eyes at the GPS system. "Donnie, can you dismantle that thing?"

Donatello stood up, pulling the bo out of its sheath once more. "Sure thing, boss." Whipping the bo around his head for momentum, Donatello brought the staff down hard on the control panel, emitting sparks and shattered screen glass.

"Now, now" a large voice boomed from above. "Didn't anybody ever teach you to play nice with other people's toys?" Shredder's smug tone tore through Becky's body, and she wanted nothing more than to kill the man. From the corner of her eye, she saw Raphael and Michelangelo slide up next to her, ready to engage in another battle. With a wicked laugh, Shredder pulled out a detonator from his cape, and pressed the button.

The control panel blew up what hadn't been destroyed by Donatello's bo, launching the flaming pieces through the air. Donatello, who was the closest to the explosion leaped out of the way of fiery metal and rolled to safety. Watching the piece land behind him, he caught a glimpse of his brothers and Becky scurrying away. As she turned to run, Becky was hit by a piece of the control panel, knocking her to the ground.

Pulling himself to his feet, Donatello's brain made a few quick calculations and he darted for Becky, realizing he was the closest to the girl and the only one able to shield her from the fireballs of destruction flying all around them. With a diving motion, he brought himself down on top of her, using his shell to shield them both against the catapulting debris.

As they landed together against the hard ground, she let out a small scream of pain and fear. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms tightly around her to both comfort and protect her as her hands wrapped tightly around his arm to hug herself against him. Even as the metal rain fell around them, his body re-awoke to the touch of her, and he pulled her even tighter against his chest. A great sadness overwhelmed him as he realized it had been far too long since he'd last held her, and he wished it was under much better circumstances than trying to save her life.

The blazing heat against his shell brought him back to the present danger. The control panel had begun to blaze, making the situation far more dangerous with the heat building behind them. Donatello swung his fist as he felt a strong arm grab for him. Through the smoke and flames he was able to make out the hands of his brothers, and quickly put his fist away. Pulling himself up, he grabbed on to Becky's waist, helping Michelangelo pull her to her feet. Blood pooled on his hand, but it took a few moments before his brain registered that it was not his. Coughing and gagging, Becky, too weak to move on her own, allowed Michelangelo to pick her up. Donatello quickly pushed them in front of him to force Michelangelo to run with her moving away from the explosion, a trail of blood following them. Her blood.

Leonardo and Raphael pulled Donatello along with them as he moved blindly through the smoke, and a small part of his ego kicked himself for not being able to save Becky on his own. Though he could hear his brothers asking him if he were all right, the smoke had him sputtering, unable to speak so he could only nod his answer.

The three brothers moved quickly out of the smoke, taking in deep breaths as the air cleared out around them. Thinking that the worst was behind them, Donatello fell to his knees as he gasped for air. Looking up to check on his brothers, pure terror washed over him as he looked up to see that Michelangelo had stopped suddenly with members of the foot quickly surrounding him, blocking his escape.

With Becky tucked into his arms and teetering on the brink of consciousness, Donatello quickly realized that Michelangelo was left unable to reach his nunchucks unless he put the girl down. With her smoke filled lungs and massive blood loss, there was no way he could put the girl down. There was no way she would be safe unattended with so many foot soldiers around. Unsure what to do, Donatello kept his eyes on the foot soldiers, hoping that one of his brothers would be able to catch up to them, and do something about the impending doom.

"Leave them," Shredder's voice demanded from above. The foot soldiers all stepped back, looking up at their master. "I have what I need and they are free to go. This time."

Donatello heard the sigh of relief escape Michelangelo's lips as the foot retreated, though a small part of his brain wondered why they were being let go. Looking at the girl in his brother's arms, he noticed the tears falling silently from her eyes as she choked out more of the smoke that had filled her lungs. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he stumbled to his feet and ran behind his brothers out of the salvage yard refusing to look back in case Shredder changed his mind. In his head, he knew if they could just make it back to the sewers, then they would all right. That she would be all right.


	4. Chapter 3

Becky lay quietly on the makeshift bed that had been made for her on the couch. Another day, another kidnapping, another day closer to the turtles finding out her secret. She'd think about leaving, going into hiding once more if she could just find the strength to stand up on her own. Trying to push away the pain, she thought she heard faint footsteps heading in her direction. A shadow fell over the couch, and she threw a pillow at the unwanted visitor, wincing at the pain covering her entire body. A few moments later, footsteps echoed down the hall followed by Raphael's voice calling out to his brothers that she didn't want to be disturbed. She sighed and closed her eyes.

The constant checking in on her had gotten old fast. The dressings around her waist were no longer deep crimson and didn't need to be changed again. She'd stopped hacking and coughing hours ago, and the color in her face was slowly returning, yet the turtles, Splinter and even Corrine still kept a constant visual on her. Thanks to their all too frequent visits, she had a table top of mostly full glasses of water, the remote control to the television set, six blankets, three teddy bears and enough pillows to land a small plane.

Though she refused to admit it out loud, the pain shooting through her back did cause her quite a bit of discomfort. The initial blow of the control panel had sent her to the ground and the metal shard that had embedded itself into her hip surely didn't tickle, but it was the heavy turtle who had sacrificed his body for her protection that pulled the muscles in her back the wrong way. Not that she would complain, it was far better to have back pain and a screaming hip than burned skin or a punctured lung. Or worse. Then again, knowing that Donatello still cared enough about her to risk his own life to save her caused goosebumps to cover her arms. Maybe, just maybe he still loved her.

She shook her head forcing that thought out of her mind. Even if he did still love her, she couldn't be with him. Besides, the second he found out that she was being used as one of Shredder's spies, he'd kick her to the curb. They all would. And even if the damned tracking device in her arm didn't do it, they would eventually figure out he was her uncle, and then they'd definitely push her away for good. Maybe even kill her? Closing her eyes again, she tried to concentrate on the pain in her back, hoping it would keep the thoughts of love or hate from the turtles away from her overworked mind.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made her jump slightly, pain shooting down her spine, registering in her mind that maybe it was more than a muscle injury. Opening her eyes, she saw Corrine standing next to the couch.

"Mind if I sit with you for a little while?" she asked. Her dark brown eyes turned down, her bottom lip now between her teeth.

"Um, yeah. Sure, I guess." Becky said, sadly thankful for the distraction. She watched as Corrine sat down in the oversized chair that butted up against the couch. Curiosity filled her mind as to why Corrine was there. Though she'd spent many days and nights in the lair with Leonardo, Corrine was not a permanent resident of the sewers. When she was there, she and Leonardo were usually in his bedroom doing things Becky didn't want to think about them doing, or in the dojo meditating or sparring together.

When Becky had returned to the lair, Leonardo and Corrine had only been dating a few short weeks, and she'd been told by Raphael that it wasn't until Becky returned that Corrine had even started spending the night. Maybe she thought Becky was competition, but that was insane. Out of all of the brothers, Becky's heart fully belonged to only one. Besides, Leonardo was the one who often frightened her and she tended to avoid him. He was too serious, though she knew he had to be as he was the leader and eldest of the brothers. Though, there was something different about him now that Corrine was around. He smiled more, attempted to make jokes more often, and he seemed to soften his entire attitude when she was around. Maybe the girl was good for him. Maybe.

Corrine shifted in her seat. "So, um. Leonardo told me that this was not the first time you have dealt with the Shredder. That he has taken you before."

"Yeah. I'm special, I guess." Becky's voice remained flat, unsure what to say to the other human girl crazy enough to date a mutant turtle.

"You do not seem terribly shaken up by the kidnapping though."

"Eh, it happens. I get pissed off, the turtles show up, a few foot ninjas get the snot beat out of them, and poof I'm free to spend some time on the couch recovering. Same old, same old."

Corrine smiled, folding her hands in her lap. "The Shredder does not scare you?"

Becky scoffed, turning away from Corrine to lay her head back against the pillows. "It's more annoying than scary. Bastard needs to just learn to stay away from me."

"Why you?" The question came out in a whisper, but it echoed loudly in Becky's ears.

Becky's eyes closed. There was something in Corrine's voice that she couldn't quite figure out, but part of her felt as though she were going through an interrogation rather than talking to her friend's girlfriend. Not that it stopped her from answering Corrine's question. "Think about it. I'm the weak little human girl who lives with the turtles. I make the perfect bait," she said. "Shredder's a moron, but he's not stupid."

Silence followed. No sound or movement came from either girl, and after a few moments, Becky opened her eyes to see if Corrine had walked away. She hadn't. Lowering her gaze to meet Becky's, Corrine slid to the edge of the chair, closer to Becky. "Leonardo told me that the Shredder mentioned he had spies watching for the turtles. Do you think there are spies among us?"

Becky's eyes narrowed, the meaning of Corrine's words sinking in. Forcing herself through the pain, she stood up, towering over the seated Corrine. "Just what in the hell are you implying?" she asked. Her voice was hard, angry and louder than she realized.

Corrine pulled herself out of the chair, standing to her full height, meeting Becky eye to eye. "I am not implying anything. Just making conversation." The two girls stared each other down, neither moving, neither blinking. Becky fought to keep her hands from balling into fists, and her leg to keep from kicking the girl in front her.

"What's going on in here?" Raphael asked, coming from his room. "I heard yelling." He looked at the two women, standing next to the couch, their bodies less than an inch from each other. Neither girl turned toward him, or made any movements at all.

"Somebody answer him," Leonardo's voice demanded as he entered the room. "Corrine?"

Corrine bit her lip before forcing herself to take a step back. "Just girl talk," she replied. Turning toward Leonardo, she forced a smile upon her face. "I think I need to go for a walk. Leonardo, would you mind joining me? I would hate to be on the streets alone, just in case the foot should happen by and try to kidnap me."

Unable to control herself any longer, Becky sent a fist flying into Corrine's nose. Ignoring the screams of her spine and hip, she lifted her leg to kick Corrine, but was pulled back by strong arms, throwing her back on the couch. "What the hell?" Raphael asked. Disbelief and confusion covered his face as he held Becky down against the cushions, ignoring her cries of pain.

"I am fine," Corrine said. "She is fine. I probably deserved that." Holding her hand to her nose to stop the bleeding, Corrine walked over to Leonardo, who stood frozen in place, his eyes locked on Becky. "Leonardo, I am fine. Come on, let us head topside." Pulling the turtle toward the gate, and grabbing his coat and hat for him, Corrine looked back at Becky, an unexpected sympathetic look in her eyes.

Anger still radiating through her, Becky lunged her body, trying to free herself from Raphael's grasp, but he was much stronger than she was, and the pain in her body threatened to knock her out. "Bitch!" she muttered, knowing only Raphael could hear her.

As the happy couple shut the gate behind them, Raphael released his grip on Becky. Against her will, the pain in her body overtook her, and she slumped back against the pillows. Raphael tugged a blanket up over her, pulling it to her chin, locking her arms inside. "Care to tell me what happened?"

"No."

Raphael smiled, brushing the hair out of her face with his fingers. "Then would you mind telling me how great it felt to punch her? I've wanted to do that many times myself."

A smile spread across Becky's face as a small laugh coughed out of her. "I think I bruised my hand and re-opened the bleeding wound on my hip. But it was worth it."

The crowd at Michelangelo's Pizzeria, Under the Sea Dining was sparse for a fall evening. Four tables were currently occupied, three with families with young kids dressed up as princesses and pirates. The fourth held a group of teenagers chugging root beer and ordering odd pizza toppings. They were likely high, but weren't causing any problems so they were allowed to stay. Though Casey, April and Michelangelo stayed busy serving customers, baking orders and busing tables, they also found more down time than usual to chit chat, with April driving the conversation around the upcoming wedding.

"I'm thinking we make it a costume wedding, that way the guys aren't stuck in some stuffy disguises. And that way your weird little friends don't have to scare anyone to rent a tux."

"Weird little friends?" Michelangelo repeated. Dropping a gum drop and banana pizza onto plates, he rang the bell for the order to be picked up.

"Not you," Casey said, picking up the pizza plates. "She means my hockey buddies. They make you guys seem almost normal."

"Amen," April said, spinning around to take the check and payment from one of the happy families.

The bell above the front door rang announcing the arrival of Corrine and Leonardo. The couple headed back to the corner booth that had been their usual spot, and Michelangelo immediately put a half sausage, half garden pizza in the oven, knowing it's what they were going to order anyway. As couple's went, Corrine and Leonardo were by far the most boring. Nothing ever changed, they always sat at the same table, ordered the same pizza and gave each other the same looks that made him want to gag. These two seriously needed to change it up a bit and bring a little excitement to their lives! Michelangelo's phone vibrated and he turned away from the nauseatingly dull couple to read a text from Raphael.

"Hey guys," April greeted them, plopping two glasses and a pitcher of ice tea on the table. "What brings you two out for a date night?"

"I figured we were past due for a night out. It has been weeks since this guy even offered to take me to a movie."

Leonardo put his arms up in defense. "I warned you when you met me that training will always be number one on my list, Corrine."

"Ah, such a romantic," April laughed before walking away to cash out another one of the families.

As she left, Corrine slid closer to Leonardo, taking his hand in hers. Smiling in her direction, Leonardo squeezed her hand back before setting it down on her leg. Looking at her sternly, his smile faded into a frown. "So, Corrine. You mind telling me what you said today that had Becky slugging you? That's not at all like her."

Shrugging, Corrine reached over to fill the glasses with the sweet tea she'd grown to love, wondering how she'd ever be able to go back to plain Green Tea after her relationship with Leonardo ended. April used pure sugar in her tea, and it always tasted so much better than places that used artificial sweetners. Corrine took a few sips to stall before looking back at Leonardo to answer his question. "I think between dealing with the Shredder and her not really liking me, I said something the wrong way and probably just hit a nerve. I do not blame her. I should not have tried to talk to her so soon after the ordeal. And I may have possibly blamed her for her own kidnapping."

Leonardo's forehead creased, his eyes questioning Corrine's explanation, but he remained silent. Sipping from the glass she held out to him, he let his mind wander through the events of the day. Shredder claimed to have spies watching them, but he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary lately, no one following them or any of their human allies. Seeing how the foot were not known for stealth, anyone trying to follow them surely would have been noticed by now. Then there was the fact that Shredder had let them get away so easily. The foot easily had the drop on both Michelangelo and Becky with the others too far away to have been able to assist them right away, but Shredder had let them go. Why? None of it made sense.

Taking another sip of tea, he nodded slightly at Casey as he dropped off the pizza and two plates. Casey made immature kissy faces toward Leonardo and Corrine, but turned around before he could see the dirty looks they gave him in return.

"How are you friends with that insufferable man?" Corrine asked, scooping up a slice of garden pizza and dropping it on to her plate. "He does not seem like your type."

Leonardo shrugged, biting into a piece of the sausage pizza, instantly regretting it when he burned the top of his mouth. Forcing himself to swallow, he put the rest of the piece down on his plate as tears of pain brimmed his eyes. Wiping them away, he looked back at Corrine. "Raphael brought him around after he helped us take out a few purse snatchers running amuck near Central Park. Somehow the two of them bonded after a night of nearly beating each other senseless, which yes, I know, the immaturity jokes are abundant there. But all in all, he's a good guy. He's always been there for us when we needed back up. Plus, for some strange reason, April loves the guy and we love April."

"Hmm. I guess opposites really must attract after all." She looked around the eatery, looking over the tables of customers, and back toward Leonardo's friends and family laughing together behind the counter. She wasn't exactly sure how she'd ended up here, dating a mutant turtle, living off of pizza and leaving so much of her own life behind, but somehow, here she was and she had to admit she didn't completely hate it.

A cold shiver traveled down her back as she remembered the life she had just a few short months before. It was by no means a happy fluffy kind of life, but it was the life she'd chosen, and the life she was destined to lead. Though she was still following the same path, as the days went by and she found herself spending more and more time with the turtles, she wasn't sure how she would manage to ever go back to the way things were before they came into her life. But staying with them forever wasn't in the plan. She had to do what she needed to do, and then she would disappear and never think of them again.

In the beginning, after she'd first met Leonardo, she had tried to keep parts of her old life going, including the day to day running of her dojo. She'd spend weekend days at the sewers, but weekdays she spent hanging out with her human friends, but then they started asking too many questions, and she didn't have the answers. Well, answers that they could hear anyway out of risking the turtle's secrets. Then there was the chance that she might be caught in her stories and lies, and she couldn't risk that either.

So instead of risking everything, she left the compound that she lived in, and she moved into a small studio apartment where she was alone. Of course, with Shredder actively back on the streets, and young kids that she was connected to being recruited, she knew she'd have to lay low if she was going to be able to do what she was supposed to do: keep secrets and stay safe, which included sticking around Leonardo and temporarily moving into the sewers.

She let out a sigh, pushing her empty plate away from her, not realizing in her day dream just how quickly she'd eaten her half of the pizza. "I need to make a phone call," she said. "If I am going to be living with you and the other turtles for a little while, it would probably be best for me to have my assistant take over teaching my classes for the next few weeks."

"Of course." Leonardo smiled up at her as she rose from the bench and watched as she walked through the kitchen to the back alley where it was much less likely anyone would bother her. Taking another piece of pizza, he munched quietly, watching as the last of the other customers paid their bills and left.

It had taken some serious conversations with Michelangelo for the entire family to be convinced that opening up a restaurant was a good idea. Of course, Casey had instantly jumped in on the idea, and when Becky and April had explained a year ago about the great business plan, and all of the preparations Michelangelo had done, he knew he wasn't going to be able to stop it. Looking around the restaurant, he couldn't help but feel proud of his baby brother for doing something he truly cared about, and staying on top of everything for his business to be successful.

As though he knew his brother's thoughts, Michelangelo plopped down on the bench across from him, snagging a piece of pizza for himself. "Another great night!" he announced. "So, any idea why Becky clocked your girlfriend?"

Leonardo choked on his pizza. "How do you know about that?"

Michelangelo laughed. "Raph texted me. He had his hands full with one pissed off girl back at the lair. He said he broke down and finally forced her to take some heavy duty pain pills to knock her out."

"Really?" Leonardo's mind raced, hoping that Raphael didn't accidentally overdose the poor girl to get her to settle down. He knew from experience that the girl was quite stubborn when it came to pain management, but he didn't want his brother to do anything that could actually make things worse.

"Yeah, but it sounds like she needed them. I think that explosion earlier today did some real damage to her, and she has to be in some major pain. I mean, Leo, did you see that amount of blood from the gash on her side?" Michelangelo's voice trailed off. He took a few deep breaths before staring right at his brother, a serious look on his face, which was something rarely seen on the youngest brother.

"Leo, we have to protect her better. I don't know how many more attacks from Shredder or the Foot she'll be able to survive. She's been drugged and hurt so many times, and no matter how much training she does, she just can't take on that many guys at once. Heck, we barely can and there are four of us."

Leonardo dropped the crust onto his plate, taking in the sadness in Michelangelo's eyes. "I know." He placed a loving hand on his baby brother's shoulder. Ever since Becky had first arrived back at the lair, Michelangelo had done everything he could to make his sister feel welcome and safe so that she wouldn't want to leave again. Her abrupt departure hadn't just affected Donatello, it had touched all of them, but while Donatello and Raphael had both turned to anger, Michelangelo had thrown himself into his business, withdrawing from his family and concentrating on what he could control in his life instead.

When Raphael had brought Becky back, kicking and screaming into the lair demanding to be let back above ground, Michelangelo had helped hold her down. He even managed to convince her that staying with them really was for the best, though she vehemently denied it. He'd graciously offered her his entire collection of comic books if she stayed with them, but she politely declined the offer, hugging him and telling him if it was that important to him, she'd stick around for a little while.

"I can't let her go again," Michelangelo whispered, bringing Leonardo back into the present. "She's my sister. I want her to be safe, with us."

"I know," Leonardo repeated.

A whirlwind of brown hair ran toward the table as Corrine reappeared. "Leonardo my love, I have to make this date short. I have to meet my assistant in five minutes at the dojo to go over last minute details for some events he is covering for me. I will meet you back at the lair when I am finished."

Leonardo leaped to his feet, grabbing Corrine's hand, pulling her back toward the table. "Why don't I go with you?"

Corrine smiled, softly pushing the turtle away. "I will be okay. I promise, I will be back at the lair by midnight." With that, she was bounding out the door, not looking back as Leonardo stood confused by the table.

"What was that about?" Michelangelo asked swiping another piece of pizza.

Leonardo shrugged, but it didn't deter he's anger. "I'm not sure. Any time her assistant's involved, she always finds a way to keep me away. It's odd."

"Women," Michelangelo said with a sigh. "They are just plain weird."


	5. Chapter 4

The room spun as Becky tried to sit up in her bed. Nausea washed over her, and she promptly fell back upon the pillows, urging her stomach to settle down. The last thing she needed was to throw up, or worse, run into Corrine on her dash to the bathroom. She shuddered at the thought of the woman's name.

Her back was still in a fair amount of pain, as was her throbbing fist. Raphael had reminded her time and time again, punch with the thumb in, but she'd been so engulfed by anger toward Corrine that the simple lesson had been completely forgotten.

She growled into the darkness of her room as the conversation replayed in her head. How dare Corrine insinuate that she was working for the Shredder? Okay, so yes she did have the stupid tracking device stuck in her arm, but she wasn't voluntarily on Shredder's side. Plus, she had been the one to run away when she didn't see any other option to save her friends. Her family. The only reason she'd even come back to the damned sewers was because Raphael had tricked her into coming back to New York with promises of her own apartment and life. Though she was by no means a prisoner in the sewers, she didn't really feel as though she belonged topside either.

So much had gone wrong over the last year. Donatello was still so mad at her that he barely spoke to her, not that she could blame him. She knew she'd hurt him when she'd run out on his marriage proposal, and disappeared without letting him have any inkling of an idea where she was. Raphael and Michelangelo both seemed pleased that she was back, neither one really letting her get too far away from them.

Poor Michelangelo, Becky thought, a frown forming upon her face. She had no idea how much she'd meant to him, or how hurt he had been when she'd left. Though the two had little in common, she, unlike some of his brothers, treated him like an equal, and never made fun of his lacking IQ or his often lack of maturity. He was the younger brother she'd always wanted, but she was too stupid to realize she finally had before she ran out on them.

Then there was Leonardo. Even before she'd left, Leonardo had always seemed so distant toward her. The fact that she was a human that he didn't really know or trust, yet knew their secret had worried him, but that just made the fact that the eldest turtle had gone out and found a girlfriend of his own that much more strange. And how he ended up with a woman like Corrine was beyond her. Leonardo and Corrine seemed so different, other than their shared love of martial arts. What was that woman doing with a turtle? Then again, Becky was also madly in love with a mutant turtle of her own, how could she judge Corrine?

Sighing, she made another attempt at sitting up, but gave up as the wave hit her again. With her luck, she would be stuck in bed for a week. Also with her luck, April would help her pass the hours by going on and on about her upcoming wedding. Not that she wasn't happy for her friend, she was, but hearing about a fairly tale wedding still brought back painful memories that her own love story would never have a happy ending.

The bedroom door opened with a soft knock and a green hand reached in to flip on the bedroom light switch. "I thought I heard moans of agony coming from in here. Mind if I come in?" Raphael's voice asked.

Becky shrugged, then cursed at herself for it when the seemingly innocent movement caused a domino effect of pain against her spine, down her side and into her hip. "Oh, dammit," she muttered.

Raphael entered the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. Noticing her squint at the blinding light, he turned the light back off allowing the light from down the hall to lead him across the room. Slowly he lowered himself on to the bed beside her, taking great care in his movements not to bump into her. "Need some more pain killers?"

"Hell no. That last dose knocked me out for hours. I'm still not even sure how I ended up in my own bed." She let out another sigh, before placing her hand in his. "Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?"

He squeezed her hand. "Babe, you hang out with a bunch of mutated, ninja trained, crime fighting turtles. Did you really think this life would be easy?"

She grimaced. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be so painful."

A frown spread across the turtle's face as he tightened his hold on her hand. "It shouldn't be. I should be able to protect you better."

"I am not your responsibility," she said. "You can't possibly blame yourself."

Raphael sighed, squeezing her hand even tighter. "Then can I blame Donatello? He shouldn't have ever let you go. Hell, if I'd proposed to you and you ran off, I'd have run after you and brought you back here, kicking and screaming."

"You did chase me down and bring me back kicking and screaming."

"Exactly my point." He flashed her a toothy grin, but quickly dropped the grin when he noticed she wasn't smiling back.

"I'm not letting you blame Donatello," she said, her voice more sad than angry. Her eyes dropped to the ground, refusing to look at Raphael. "He did the right thing; he let me go. He had to, and so did you. You're just too damn stubborn to believe me."

The room turned quiet and still as Raphael stared into the pale blue of the slightly older girl. Pulling her hand up to his mouth, he placed a soft kiss upon her knuckles causing her head to jerk up to look back up at him. "Don't fool yourself, Beck," he began, keeping his voice soft and low. "He didn't let you go as easily as you want to believe he did. He tore himself apart when you left. The idiot should have put at least half the energy he wasted blaming himself into trying to finding you."

Becky's expression sobered. "He risked his life for me yesterday. Didn't say a damn word to me, but he saved my life. Give him some credit for protecting me, Raphael. Please."

A slow nod responded to her request. Carefully, Raphael shifted so he could lie down beside her. She yawned as she moved down with him. Cradling her in his arms, he kissed the top of her head, his nose catching the scent of strawberries from her shampoo. "You need to get some more rest. You know it's only about four in the morning, dontcha?"

Resting her aching head against his shoulder she cuddled next to him, feeling safe in his arms. "Actually, I had no idea of the time." Her suddenly heavy eyelids closed and she let herself drift back to sleep to the soft sound of Raphael snoring softly in her ear.

Outside her slightly ajar bedroom door, hidden in the darkness of the lair, an eavesdropping turtle allowed her words to sink in and take control of his brain, knocking him into a heap on the floor. Looking into her room, the dim light of the clock on her bedside table casting a pale light on her body curled up next to his brother, Donatello's heart shattered. "No matter what, I swear I will always protect you with my life, Becky," he whispered, allowing all of the emotions from the last year and a half to consume him as he let the tears finally fall.

Crawling back to his bedroom to avoid waking up any one else in the family, he leaned against his bed, letting the tears drop against his face. For far too long he'd kept his sorrow, pain, anger and fear locked inside of him. Now, after hearing her defend his atrocious behavior, he hated himself even more for becoming such an asshole towards her. Yes, he had jumped in to save her, but only after her life was truly in danger. If he were any decent turtle, he wouldn't have spent the last few months treating her like shit for leaving him. He would have celebrated her unexpected return, and forced his way back into her heart. And then, had she been hurt anyway, he would be the one she was snuggled up against as she recovered from yet another battle with the Shredder. And as his memory replayed the entire incident again in his head, seeing her fall to the ground, seeing the blood dripping from her body, he cried again, until there were no tears left.

Days filled with plenty of pain killers passed slowly before she finally felt any signs of recovery. Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo took turns checking in on her, spending time playing Go Fish and Crazy 8s to help pass the time in between naps, and even Splinter joined in on a rousing game of Old Maid in which Michelangelo happily took the Queen from her in the final round, knowing full well where the card was so she wouldn't lose the hand. She wanted to smack him letting her win, but knowing that he was often a sore loser himself, she accepted it as the sweet gesture he intended.

Though she avoided Becky, Corrine did help out by making trips to the library to keep a healthy stock of paranormal romance novels available for the moments Becky was able to keep everyone out and let her have some peace and quiet. The moments were rare, and she usually had to fake falling asleep to get them, but she was happy to have so many people around her that cared about her so much.

To allow her plenty of healing time, Casey and Michelangelo did their best to keep April occupied at the pizzeria or with their own ideas for the wedding. April greatly missed the help of her Maid of Honor, but the turtles assured her that Becky would not be of much help in a drugged up stupor, which was only partially true. Though she spent most of her time quite coherent, the idea of being stuck in bed with April yammering endlessly about her wedding made Becky's head hurt, but she did promise her friend that she would help as soon as she was back to feeling at least eight-five percent better.

Two weeks after the salvage yard explosion, Becky's cabin fever set in, and she forced herself to believe that she was back to feeling just fine, even with the aches and pains still hitting her on occasion. As predicted, less than an hour after sharing the news with Casey that she was willing to step back into her role as Maid of Honor, April had shown up with arm loads of wedding and bridal magazines, begging Becky for assistance, claiming Casey had no idea what he was doing and she needed someone with taste on her side.

Hours were spent pouring over photos of dresses and headpieces and shoes and flowers and an array of other items before Becky thought her head would literally explode. After one exceptionally excruciating conversation of chicken versus fish for the wedding dinner that somehow ended in three entree choices for the guests once Casey begged for beef, Becky faked a sudden massive headache and fell dramatically back against her pillow. Michelangelo rushed to her aid insisting that April should let her rest so she could regain her health. Once she was well again, Michelangelo enthusiastically let her know that she could be one of the first to try out his new sauerkraut, onion and pickle pizza recipe. Just the thought of the pizza made her wish for round two of the chicken versus fish debate and she was thankful that Michelangelo was too busy helping April out of the room to notice the look of disgust upon her face.

As Michelangelo waved goodbye to April, Corrine returned from another trip to the library. Placing the books on the counter, she looked over in time to see Michelangelo skip down the hallway to the training dojo, leaving her alone. Corrine let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Michelangelo had ushered April out. Though she liked the woman, she couldn't take another moment of chiffon versus silk versus satin debates on everything from tablecloths to the bridesmaid dresses. And if it wasn't fabric debates, April would start in again with her irrational paranoia over the flowers. Roses were too cliché, daisies were too dull, Casey was allergic to baby's breath-which Corrine didn't believe anyone was truly allergic to the filler flower, and then there was the carnation debacle. Being Becky's favorite flower, she had suggested them when nothing else seemed right, and April nearly threw the bridal magazine at her citing that Carnations were a poor woman's flower. April later apologized for the outburst, but Corrine could see that the damage to Becky's feelings was already done.

Sighing again, Corrine clicked off the television that she wasn't even watching and figured Michelangelo had left on by mistake. Glancing up at the clock, she tallied in her head that Leonardo would keep the guys in the dojo for another forty-seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds before dismissing them for the night. She truly admired his commitment to training, a trait she had admired in her own students as well. Hearing the sounds of sparring coming from the other room, she realized how much she missed her dojo, her students and her business partner. The time spent stuck in the sewers left her feeling claustrophobic and lazy. She was used to teaching two or three classes a day, recruiting new students, and being able to see a movie or go for a walk in the fresh air, all things that she had momentarily given up as a duty to stay hidden and safe.

Stretching out on the couch, she crossed her arms behind her head, looking up at the ceiling above her. Deciding it was the sunlight she missed the most, she closed her eyes picturing a meadow with plenty of fresh air, sunlight and room to run, then quickly changed her mind to walking instead. Running had been what had gotten her involved with turtles in the first place.

It seemed like ages ago, though it was only about eight months when she'd been out for a run and two of the foot soldiers had seen her and thrown her to the ground, pounding their fists into her side. They had been former students of hers, so she'd been able to block them easily enough knowing most of their moves. Then, one of them took her by complete surprise as he held a knife to her throat. A green hand had knocked the knife from her attacker's hand, and pushed the guys away from her.

She looked up to see the two foot soldiers run off, and found herself looking into the navy blue eyes of a green, humanoid turtle wearing a blue mask over his eyes. Placing the knife carefully into a sheath on his belt, he then held out his hand to help her back to her feet. Without saying a word, he'd picked her up, slung her over his shoulder and carried across the street into a pizza place, demanding a glass of water for her as he placed her in what would from then on be known as their booth.

At the time, she'd had no idea that the place belonged to his brother, but as soon as he'd touched her, she knew there was no way he was wearing a costume, that he truly was a living, breathing humanoid-turtle. Cautiously taking the water he offered her, she thanked him softly before gulping it down. Before she could blink, a redheaded human woman had placed an entire pitcher of water down in front of her.

"Thanks April," Leonardo said, not taking his eyes off of Corrine. "Are you okay?" he asked her, taking the glass from her to refill it.

She nodded, before taking another long drink. Gently placing the glass back on the table, she stared back at him. "You are one of those ninja crime fighting turtles, correct?"

"Yes, I'm Leonardo. And you are?"

She frowned at the impatience in his voice. "Corrine Ta… Um, I am Corrine. Thank you for saving me."

Leonardo shrugged, and for some reason, the small gesture annoyed her. If Leonardo saw the annoyance on her face, he chose to ignore it. "I saw you through the window and something inside me told me I needed to do it. I can't explain it."

"Like fate or something?" she asked.

"Maybe," he said before standing up and walking toward the counter to pick up a pizza box that the cashier handed to him. As he walked back by on his way out the door, he motioned for her to follow him, and against her better judgment, she did, but not without noticing the weird glances thrown her way by the other turtles she realized were also in the restaurant.

"What is with all of the strange looks in there?" she asked, running to keep up with him.

He shrugged again. "Ignore them. They have some pretty strange ideas going through their heads that I don't intend to entertain."

She paused, her eyes on his shell. He took another step forward before noticing she was no longer beside him. Turning around he looked her over. "What strange ideas?" she asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer, but curiosity got the better of her.

"That I'm attracted to you and that's why I chose to save you. I don't really believe in that, and after the terrible experience my brother had with dating, believe me, it's not something I ever plan to do."

Reminding herself of his words, Corrine came back to the present and smiled at the memory, thinking that here it was, seven months later and not only was he dating her. Heck, with her trapped down in his home in the lair, they were practically living together, which felt quite strange. Looking around the room once again, she sucked in a deep breath, then flipped the television back on for any chance at normalcy in her life.


	6. Chapter 5

Michelangelo was the first to leave the dojo once Leonardo had released them. He'd promised Casey he'd be at the pizzeria before the dinner rush, and thanks to Raphael's smart mouth getting them an extra hour of training, he was already late.

Not that he worried much about Casey and April running the place in his absence. He completely trusted both of them, and was thankful beyond belief that they were there for him. They'd help him get his business up and running, and it was Becky's background on running a business with a shoe-string budget that had really helped get Michelangelo's Pizzeria, Under the Sea Dining off the ground. Even his brothers had helped paint the walls, design the menu and offered up their own advice for advertising and marketing.

Michelangelo's Pizzeria, Under the Sea Dining wasn't just his, he accomplished his dream of a family business that his entire extended family had help turn into a reality. His only regret was that they hadn't all been there for the day of the grand opening. Two weeks before the opening, April had worked with some of her friends in public relations and set up a huge grand opening complete with a ribbon cutting, press and a crowd of people.

On the eve of the grand opening, Donatello and Becky had stayed behind to finish painting. Though Michelangelo often wondered what had really gone on that night, he didn't dare ask. The morning of the grand opening, he'd been up bright and early with a giant grin on his face. Not only was Becky on her way with the freshly-printed menus, but Donatello had planned a surprised proposal and his favorite human girl (with no offense toward April) was soon going to become his official sister. Though he'd already considered her his sister, having her formally added to the family was like having apples and whipped cream on his pizza, which was his favorite dessert.

To Michelangelo's surprise, after Donatello proposed, Becky took off, and didn't come back. Donatello was so heartbroken that he couldn't bring himself to even step foot into the pizzeria and even to this day had never been back inside. Becky had been long gone and even though Michelangelo had hoped she'd be there when the big day arrived, she wasn't. But the rest of his family had been there to see the line of customers come in and try the new family friendly, costume friendly pizza place, and even though he was sad, he was happy too, because his dream had come true.

With a smile on his face as he remembered the good times, Michelangelo sucked in a deep breath and smiled through the windows of the pizzeria. As he stepped through the door, and back into the here and now, he inhaled the smell of pepperoni and his smile widened. Life was good.

Raphael paced around the rocks of his secret, hidden hideout. Only one other person had ever been allowed to invade his private space, and the nights were so much quieter without her around to share it. He'd made sure to check on Becky before he'd come out here, still worried that the back injuries were worse than she was admitting too. She'd been sleeping when he checked on her, so he'd pulled the blankets up over her and made sure her bear, appropriately named Cinnamon after the color of his fur, was placed in her arms.

He'd given her that bear for her 27th birthday just a few short weeks ago, and she'd instantly fallen in love with it. Of course, he'd known about her love of bears pretty much since he'd met her since boxes of her stuff were labeled "Bears" when he and his brothers had helped moved her into her now old apartment in April and Casey's building. At the time, he really hadn't thought much about it, but once she returned, he had started picking up bears for her just to cheer her up.

When they'd first returned back to the lair, she was so angry with him for practically locking her in a gilded sewer cage, that she had hidden herself in her room for nearly a month. He'd known she didn't want to be there, but he wouldn't let her live topside until he knew for sure she was safe. So, as a peace offering, he bought her a brown bear, the same color as her natural hair, and left it outside her door. When she found it the next day, he watched as a smile crept upon her face and she quickly took the stuffed animal back to her room, hugging it against her chest.

As the weeks went on, he brought her a new bear and left it outside her door with little slips of paper with lame jokes, that he noticed always made her giggle, though she still refused to speak to any of them. Then, after the sixth bear, she emerged from her room, holding each of them in her arms. Her smile had returned, the artificial color in her hair had begun to fade away, and her hair had grown out to the point that some of her curls had bounced back to life.

Looking at Raphael, she smiled, and left the bears outside her door and closed it behind her. Noticing that the bears each had a slip of paper with a single word on it, he walked over to them and read them in order, finding the note "This was bear-y nice of you." His heart melted at the pun, and he vowed to make sure she was always surrounded by teddy bears if it meant that she would be happier.

Laughing at himself, he slowly made his way back to the lair. Ignoring his brothers, he slipped into his room, pulled a pink bear with a white nurse's cap on it's head and a heart that said "get well bear-y soon" out of a large sack stored safely in his closet, and placed it just inside her bedroom door. Returning to his room, he smiled before locking the closet door to keep his brothers from finding his secret stash.

As usual, Leonardo was the last to leave the dojo after making sure all of the mats were straightened out, and the practice weapons stored properly on the wall. Taking in a deep breath, he held it in for the count of ten before letting it go. "In with the good, out with the bad," he said to himself before sitting on the mat below him.

Deciding to take advantage of the rare moment of solitude, Leonardo crossed his legs, sat up straight and closed his eyes. Concentrating on his breathing, he tried to clear his mind. Clouds of darkness filled his internal vision, and the sounds of a woman screaming filled his ears. Trying to push the images away, he peered harder into the darkness for something. Anything.

His meditations had been dark and unsettling for quite some time now, which is why he spent so little time meditating any more. He could never really see anything but black, or make out anything but the scream. Every time it was a female's scream, but he couldn't figure out who it belonged to. Some days it sounded like Corrine, others April, but most commonly it was a voice he didn't recognize.

The darkness continued to taunt him, and the screaming grew louder. Unable to keep up the fight, he quickly opened his eyes, allowing the vision to disappear. He should probably alert Master Splinter about what he heard and saw, but he didn't want to worry his master and father. The elderly rat wasn't getting any younger, and Leonardo knew it was only a matter of time before he would no longer be able to fight alongside his sons in training or in battle, and that he would have to step up to keep his family in-line, which was much harder than it sounded. For as long as he could remember, Raphael made great use of his time by undermining every single order, request or suggestion Leonardo sent his way. He assumed part of the problem was jealousy as his younger brother tended to want things he couldn't have, like leadership of the family or his brother's girlfriend.

A smile crept along his face, knowing that the girlfriend was in fact not Corrine, but Becky. Raphael had shown no interest in the woman Leonardo's heart latched on to, but by the time Corrine had come along, Raphael's heart had already belonged to another unavailable woman. Which was just as well, since Corrine didn't really seem to like Raphael much at all.

Tiptoeing out of the dojo, Leonardo found Corrine sleeping soundly on the couch. Pulling the blanket off of the chair behind him, he covered her up. Pulling the remote from her hand, he shut off the television. With a gentle kiss to her cheek, he headed to his bed with his mind piecing together a possible engagement ring for the girl sleeping on the couch. The thoughts surprised even him as he'd never thought of himself as a husband. But there was something about the girl on the couch that made his heart think things his head never had.

April stretched across the mountain of magazines, vendor contracts, location brochures and fabric samples to squeeze Casey's thigh through his well worn sweat pants. Glancing over his sports magazine, he shot her a brief smile before returning to the article. Staring at him, his brown eyes scanning the page, drool forming on his lip, as she could only assume he was looking at the latest and greatest hockey equipment.

Shaking her head, she leaned back against the couch, her mind wandering back to six years ago when she'd first met the man. Back then he'd been a pompous, smug wannabe lady's man who's grunts were less offensive than his actual words. When Raphael had introduced them, she'd made a remark or twelve about throwing the Neanderthal out in the garbage. Somehow, over the months, his sexist remarks and lame sports jokes grew on her. Maybe it was the way he managed to always make her laugh, even when she didn't want to. Maybe it was because he was the only human male she spent large amounts of time with. Or maybe it was because he'd saved her life.

Three months after they'd first met, April left the lair, fuming about another anti-female empowerment joke that Casey swore she'd find amusing. Storming down the street, glaring at any man who dared look her way, she took the wrong street toward her apartment, ending up in a not-so friendly neighborhood. By the time she came out of her raging stupor, it was too late to turn back. She found herself silently surrounded by a small group of what she would later learn were foot clan recruits.

Going for her purse, then pulling a knife against her throat, the thugs taunted and threatened her until she knew the only way out was to die. Just as the knife pierced her skin, a hockey stick flew against her assailant's arm, narrowly missing her head. Falling to the ground in a gasp of breath, she watched as the other muggers were hit hard. Then, standing in his full face mask, his golf bag of clubs, bats and sticks strapped to his back, stood Casey.

Yanking the mask from his face, he slid down beside April, grabbing on to her. Willingly, she allowed him to hold her as the true horror of the mugging became all too clear, the tears falling with no hopes of ending. Even now, she couldn't remember how he managed to get her back to her apartment, but she could remember exactly how she felt when he tucked her safely into bed and gently kissed her forehead. It was that exact moment when she realized that this man would be hers until forever.

Opening her eyes from the memories, April looked down at the diamond ring on her finger, thankful that she'd given Casey a second (or was it millionth?) chance at becoming a real man. Though she still had her work cut out for her on his lack of manners and constant checking of sports scores, he was very much hers.

Meditating in the middle of the dimly lit dojo, Master Splinter found his thoughts wandering to his family. He was so proud of each of his sons, yet knew they still had so far left to go to mature into actual adulthood. It both saddened and scared him. The legacy of a man was found in his sons.

Legacy. The word echoed in his mind as he pictured his youngest sons own legacy; his very own pizzeria. In all their years together as a family, Splinter had worried most about Michelangelo fearing his goofball son would never grow up. It took them all by surprise when Michelangelo was the one who started his very own business, and turned it into a success. Yes, he'd had help from his friends, but it was his heart and soul that made the pizzeria the success story that it was, and Splinter could not have been more proud.

Leonardo tried so hard to be the perfect son, and Splinter often worried that his constant training would keep him from having a truly fulfilled life. There was so much more than fighting and training in the world, and even with Corrine in his son's life, Splinter worried that even now, Leonardo still did not truly understand the importance of love in one's life.

Ah love. That necessary evil that his sweet son Donatello also needed to fully grasp. His heart ached for his son seeing him so close to the one woman who he deeply cared for, and yet, not having her. For so many years Donatello had spent so much time concentrating on gadgets and machines, that he often forgot about those around him. Then Becky entered his life and she brought a spark that even Splinter had not figured out how to ignite. Donatello showed passion for all things, and even found better ways to stand up for what he truly wanted. But, when she'd disappeared, she took that part of his son with her and even with her return, Donatello stayed in his regressed status. Splinter's visions often saw the two as a happy couple again, and every beat of his heart hoped it would happen soon. Donatello and Becky needed each other.

Shaking his head, Splinter smiled as his thoughts turned towards his hot-headed son. Raphael was also greatly affected by the girl, as she somehow had the power to tame him. Though he still picked fights with the eldest son, Splinter had watched as Raphael's leadership skills grew stronger and more focused since she'd come into their lives. Just like his brother, Raphael needed Becky, too, but in a different way.

That girl was truly amazing, and Splinter greatly enjoyed having a daughter around. Even he had found a softer fatherly section of himself when she entered their lives, and he would do anything in his power to keep her safe from harm. Though he was never really sure what was going on with the girl, his visions showed she held a great burden that she refused to share. If only she could let down her guard, put her stubbornness behind her and just admit that she still loved his son and help put an end to the quiet feud going on in the lair.

Dropping the screwdriver on his foot for the fourth time in less than two minutes, Donatello sighed as he placed it back on his work table. Deciding that his brain was in no mood for working on Raphael's bike, he pulled the battery out to ensure Raphael wouldn't be able to take it out before he could replace the brakes. Again.

Grabbing a rag from the bench, he wiped the grease from his hands, before turning to head back toward his room. After the workout from Leonardo, Donatello was hoping to allow his mind to escape as he worked, but his hands and his brain refused to cooperate. Instead, his mind only had one thought to repeat over and over and over again. Today was the eve of the one year anniversary of when he'd given up hope. The day he stopped looking for _her_ and truly began to mourn his loss of love. Though he didn't think his brothers remembered, or if they had, they hadn't mentioned anything, but the date on the calendar along with finding the ring in his toolbox had put a damper on his already dark mood. Knowing that she was in the room next to his didn't help any.

If he weren't so afraid of how the girl would react, he'd go into her bedroom and talk to her. Then again, he wasn't sure how he would react either. At this point anything from kissing her and forcing himself into her bed from playing a game of Old Maid, to begging her to take him back, to calling her every foul word he could think of seemed of even probability and he didn't like those odds.

Reaching the door to his room, he glanced over at the half open door next to his. The lights were off, and he could make out the soft sound of her breathing. Figuring she was knocked out from her heavy pain pills, he pushed away the thought of seeing her and locked himself in his room.

Though it had been well over a year since they'd shared his bed, memories of her still lingered around his wall. Above his bed, they'd spent hours painting a to-scale solar system, though most of the dots were so small, no one else really knew exactly what it was. On the middle shelf of his bookshelf, the framed pictures of the two of them that she'd added to the room still stared back at him. Even after all this time, he still hadn't brought himself to put the pictures away. He'd thought about it a few times, but every time he reached to move them, something inside him stopped him.

When she'd returned, one of the first things he'd noticed after her changed hair, clothes and attitude, was that she still wore the turtle shaped locket he'd made for her around her neck. Deep down inside, he knew that if he were to open the locket, the picture of him would still be tucked safely inside. If she could keep him around her neck, then he could easily keep her on his shelf.

Quietly opening the door, he checked to make sure her lights were still off. Careful not to wake her, he tip toed into her room, gently kissed the top of her forehead and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. Then, hoping she wouldn't wake up, he sat in the chair beside her bed and watched her sleep, hoping that happy dreams would keep her, and himself, well through the night.


	7. Chapter 6

Walking slowly through the winding tunnels of the sewers, Raphael moved slowly with Becky in tow.

"How did you sleep last night?" Raphael asked as he swung open the gate to the great outdoors.

"I had a strange dream last night," Becky said, blinking her eyes to the morning light. "I felt like someone was watching every move I made and just kept staring at me all night. It was creepy."

Raphael helped her maneuver around the rocks and sat her carefully on a boulder. In the wee morning hours, he'd decided that she had spent way too much time in bed healing the past few weeks and getting outside would do her some good, so he'd picked her up out of bed after she awoke and carried her carefully out to his secret thinking spot, that only the two of them knew about.

Still dressed in her pajamas, he hoped she wouldn't be terribly mad at him for forcing her out into the real world.

Deciding he didn't really care if she were mad or not, since the fresh air was good for her, he jumped over the boulder to land in front of her. Plopping down beside her, he took care not to land on her knee and cause her any further pain. "Was anyone around when you woke up?" he asked, thinking about her dream

"No," she replied, her voice cautious of her words. "But it felt like someone had been."

Raphael shrugged, flicking a spider off of the rock beside him. He hated spiders with a passion, believing that they should all be burned. "It was probably just a dream then."

"Maybe." She closed her eyes, turning her face up to the sunrise. She'd been cooped up for way too long in the lair and was thankful Raphael had forced her to join him, but she knew him well enough to know that this was not merely a way to get her back outdoors. "So, why are we really out here, Raphael?"

Raphael shifted his position so he was facing her. Taking her left hand in his, he gave a weak smile. "Do you know what today is?"

"Wednesday?"

"No, that's not what I meant. Actually, it's Monday but that's beside my point." He took in a deep breath, holding her hand tightly in his. "Today is the one year anniversary of the day Donatello gave up on finding you. Today is the one year anniversary of the day that I became the only one left still hellbent on finding you and forcing you back here."

Becky felt the pressure tighten as he squeezed her hand. Looking over at him, she saw the hurt and pain in his eyes and squeezed him back. "I'm sorry." His words sunk in and cut deep. The others had given up. Of course, it made sense. That had been her plan all along. To leave, let them go on with their lives so that they would be safer. So why did it hurt so much when he'd admitted that her plan worked? Swallowing back the pain, she willed herself not to cry. Not now.

Nodding, Raphael bit into his lip before continuing. "I'm not going to ask why you left, I know you won't tell me, but I do want to tell you that I'm glad I was right and that you came back."

Pulling her hand away, she leaned over and hugged him. "Me too."

Silence followed as she felt a tear all from her eye. If he noticed, he was kind enough not to say. She refused to look up at him, keeping her gaze fixed on the pinks and oranges of the sun coming up, the promise of the new day before them.

Raphael shifted. Clearing his throat, he caught her attention. "It's still not the same around here, even with you back. Donatello's still angry, Leonardo's found a girlfriend, and Michelangelo's gone into business for himself. Things just keep on changing."

Nodding her head, she realized he was right. The only thing constant in the world was change. "It's called growing up, Raphael. You can't stop it." Using his knee as a crutch, she turned her body to prop her back up against his chest. "And you can't change the past."

Wrapping his arms around her, he softly kissed the top of her head. She stared out across the boulders and the rocks to the water streaming out of the sewer and he followed her gaze. Pulling her tighter, he held her as hard as he felt he could without causing her any pain from her nearly healed injuries. "Promise me you won't leave again."

"I can't promise that." Her gaze stayed out in front her, refusing to look at her friend. "But I can promise you that I'll stay as long as it's safe for me to be here."

"We'd never hurt you," Raphael said, rocking with her in a slow movement. "And we can protect you from the bad guys. Well, you know, we will do our best anyway." He hated himself for having to give the disclaimer, but far too many times she'd been hurt already. Their best was all any of them could give.

"I know, and don't you dare ever blame yourselves for what's happened to me. The foot get what they want, and no one can completely stop them."

"They can't have you." Raphael said. "You're ours."

Laughing, she placed her head on his chest, turning to look him in the eye. "I don't belong to any of you."

"You could belong to me, if you'd just give in to the temptation," he joked. She smacked his leg, but beyond the pain, he saw the smile on her face. He shook his head and lowered his voice. "Or, you could give in to your heart and belong to Donatello."

The smile on her face vanished. "He doesn't want me," she said. Her voice was instantly hard and bitter, but she refused to let her eyes turn wet. She'd spilled enough tears over a love that never should have been. It was pointless to waste any more.

"Bullshit," Raphael said, spinning her around to face him. "That guy wants you more than he wants a life time subscription to Brainiac Scientist Weekly."

"That magazine doesn't exist," she began but was cut off.

"Not the point. You know how you tell me stories of smart people doing stupid ass things. Well Rebecca Faye Spiegel, you are the second smartest person I know, but if you think for a second my brother doesn't want you, then you are an idiot."

His eyes burned into hers as she let his words sink in. Lowering her eyes to the ground, she mumbled incoherently, then pushed herself awkwardly into a standing position. "I'm getting tired," she said, her hand to her back. "Could you please take me back to my bed?"

Down but not defeated, he complied with her request, but swore to himself that one way or another, he would help his best friend realize his brother was the only one for her, or at the very least, that he himself would be a great consolation prize.


	8. Chapter 7

The bitter cold came without warning, the New York winter hitting hard just after Christmas. Michelangelo took over Becky's old apartment in April and Casey's building so that he would be closer to the pizzeria when they were able to open. Though business was slower during the snowy months, it still gave him a sense of accomplishment and pride to go to work and serve his creations to others.

Without Michelangelo's spunk and crazy antics, the sewer lair became a quiet and solemn place to live. With the colder temperatures, Leonardo spent most of his time training with his brothers, or snuggled next to Corrine in bed to keep them both warm. Splinter found the early nightfall helpful to his visions, and spent more time meditating and sneaking in a few extra soap operas, thinking no one knew what he was really doing in his room.

Donatello turned to his shop, keeping his blow torch handy to take the chill from the air as he continued repairs on Raphael's mechanical toys. Becky spent her nights reading in her bed, dressed in a heavy sweatshirt and sweat pants, layered in what Raphael assumed was a mountain of forty-two blankets to try to stay warm. She was definitely a child of summer and would probably be cold even if she lived on the equator, and he made sure to tell her as much from the safety of the hallway.

The colder temperatures, along with the run ins with Leonardo and Corrine making out on the couch, reminded Raphael that he was very much alone. Even though he believed in his head and in his heart that Becky and Donatello should be together, it didn't keep his mind from wandering to different ways he'd like to help keep the girl, and himself, warm for the winter. Deciding it best to keep those thoughts to himself, he found himself avoiding Becky's room and Becky herself.

That was, until the night the electricity went out.

Donatello scrambled for flashlights and candles, checking every breaker and switch throughout the lair. In an effort to keep everyone warm, the entire family barricaded themselves in the dojo, keeping the doors tightly shut around them. Every blanket and pillow they owned was in the room, and they stayed fairly close around each other, surrounding Master Splinter and his circle of candles.

While Donatello continued searching for the cause of their problem, Leonardo held Corrine tight, wrapped in blankets from their room. Splinter wore his heavy kimono and kept himself covered in a wool blanket from his old home and life as a human. Figuring everyone was faring fairly well in the cold, Raphael leaned back against his pillow to try to get some sleep.

Then, Raphael noticed Becky's shivering across the room. She was huddled with blankets and pillows all around her, but her teeth still chattered and he thought her nose was starting to turn blue. Grabbing his small pile of blankets, he placed himself beside her, pulling her into his arms. Keeping the blankets firmly wrapped around them both, he began to heat up like a furnace, keeping her warm and trying to pretend he wasn't boiling on the inside. Keeping her wrapped tightly in his arms, he noticed her breathing slow and when he looked down into her face, he found that she'd drifted off to sleep, the normal color of her skin reappearing on her face.

A low growl from the other side of the room made him jump. Donatello's flashlight blinked twice before going out. With a hard smack from Donatello's palm, it flickered back to life. "I can't figure out what's wrong. I've checked all of the circuits, the wires, the fuses, everything. We should not be having this problem."

"Did you try resetting the I-D-10-T System?" Raphael asked, smirking. Flying from behind him, a pillow landed on his head.

"I don't need your sarcasm, Raphael. I need an answer." Storming off to his workshop, he mumbled something about his electrical grid blueprints as he exited the dojo.

Another flashlight clicked on, revealing the face of an unamused and pillowless Leonardo. "Raphael, this really isn't the time to be pissing him off."

Raphael slipped Becky out of his arms before sitting up to glare at his brother. "I'm just doing what I always do."

"Yes, but you're doing it while you are holding onto the girl that broke his heart, as he's trying to solve a problem that he should have had figured out by now. The guy's frazzled, give him a break."

Raphael looked over at Becky's sleeping face. "She's my friend, Leonardo. I'm not going to let her freeze. If he loves her so damn much, then he can come over here and play electric blanket." He didn't really mean it. He actually quite enjoyed having her so close to him. And, though he would never admit it out loud, he secretly reveled in the idea that his brother was jealous. Maybe it would be enough to push him over the edge and finally do something to win the girl back.

Leonardo shifted as Corrine sat up beside him, pushing herself out from under his arm. "If he loves her so damn much, why does he not just tell her and this whole dramatic scene can just end?" Corrine said with a venom in her voice that surprised both Leonardo and Raphael. She glared over at the sleeping girl, but Raphael couldn't tell if it was annoyance, confusion or hatred in her eyes. Whatever it was, it didn't seem overly friendly. "I do not see why you two fight over her anyway. You should both just let her go and move on. She is not worth it."

Raphael snorted. "Leonardo, control your woman."

Leonardo glared at his brother, his mouth opening to likely tell him off, but he was interrupted by a growl from Corrine. "Do NOT EVER say anything like that ever again to me," she snarled. "Or you will not live to regret it."

The tone in her voice bothered him, and he quickly apologized. Slinking back onto the ground, he pulled the blankets over his head to avoid the icy stare from Corrine. He heard her growl again before demanding Leonardo take her back to her apartment where they could not only be warm, but be away from his asshole brother. Raphael chose not to be offended by that.

The light disappeared as Leonardo and Corrine left the dojo, then the lair. Braving a quick look, Raphael snapped on his lantern, checked to make sure Master Splinter was sleeping soundly, then rolled back on his shell. Turning the light back out, he stared into the darkness listening to the dripping of water from the pipes, and the gentle sound of breathing from the girl beside him.

From somewhere outside the dojo's door, he could hear banging and muffled curses as Donatello continued searching for answers to solve the mystery of the missing electricity. Raphael decided it was best to just let him be and not make things any worse than he already had. As it was, there were far too few turtles still in the lair. He didn't want to end up alone.

Though he was often referred to as the loner in the family, the truth was, he liked having his family around. His brothers were his world, Casey, April and Becky included. He needed them, for comfort and reassurance and yes, though he would never admit it out loud, even for keeping his ass out of trouble. And boy, was he good at finding trouble. In fact, the girl next to him was probably the only one who had an easier time finding trouble, and he knew she wasn't even looking.

Glancing over at her in the dark, he reached his arm out, gently tracing the outline of her face with his finger. Even after all this time, he couldn't figure out why the Foot Soldiers took her so often, and usually left her unharmed. Surely it was some kind of mental warfare against the turtles, Shredder using the girl as bait to try to get to him and his brothers. Luckily, with her being safely kept underground, Shredder's goons hadn't laid an unkind hand on her for months.

His fingers traced along her jawline, and she sighed softly in her sleep, her head moving up to meet his touch. Against his better judgment, he leaned over and placed his mouth softly upon hers for a brief moment. As he pulled away, he heard her sigh again.

"I love you," he whispered softly into her ear. Kissing her cheek he felt a smile creep upon her face. "I love you, too," she said softly in her sleep, ending the sentence with the word "Donnie."

Two days without electricity later, everyone was finally topside. Corrine kept Leonardo tucked away at her apartment, while Splinter took shelter with April and Casey, being the only one left with any patience for April's constant wedding babble.

Donatello, Raphael and Becky hid away with Michelangelo at Becky's old apartment, though she felt very uncomfortable being in such a confined space with two of the three brothers. If the words "tulle" and "flowers" hadn't made her want to scream, she'd happily have stayed across the hall with her human friends. But the words did, and she would rather deal with the icy glares from Donatello, than the mountains of bridal magazines from April.

Taking the back room for herself, leaving the middle room for Michelangelo and the living room for Raphael and Donatello to share, she dropped onto the twin mattress on the floor, bringing her bookbag of clothes down with her. When she'd lived here, this had been her office, and where she first realized she liked Donatello. Speaking geek, he helped her set up her computer and printer when the turtles helped her move in, all while wearing disguises to hide their true turtle identities. In the process of helping her move, Donatello had won her heart, even though she had nearly broken her hand on his hard shell, the guys claiming it was a back brace.

Three days it had taken her to learn the secret of the turtles, when by pure luck, Raphael showed up at Casey and April's apartment without his disguise and not knowing Becky was there. She took the news rather well, seeing as how most humans fainted when they realized the turtles were real. Genius that she was, she had looked at Raphael, over to April and Casey, back at Raphael then down to her hand, saying simply "so that's why it hurt so bad."

Looking out the window of her once office, she bit her lip, a small smile forming across her face. If she were truly honest with herself, that turtle still had her heart, even if he didn't want it. She wished he still wanted it.

"Whatcha grinding on so hard?" Raphael's voice asked. He stood in the doorway of the room, arms crossed, leaning against the door jam.

Shrugging, Becky slid over to one side of the mattress, clearing space for him to sit beside her. "Memories."

Nodding, Raphael plopped down beside her, looking around the room. "It is completely different without your office in here. You ever miss this place?"

"Yes and no. Sometimes I miss my freedom, but there were times it was really lonely here. I don't miss that." She looked around the room again, her memory putting every piece of furniture, every book and every piece of paper back where it was in her mind. "I'll admit, it is nice living around others. Yes it gets noisy and crazy, but it's... Family."

Raphael wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug. "We are one screwed up family. But hey, aren't they all?"

Becky smiled, leaning her head against Raphael's shoulder as Michelangelo bounced into the room. "Did somebody say family?"

Rolling his eyes, Raphael stared at his brother. "I thought you were down at the restaurant."

Michelangelo shrugged. "The blizzard picked up again. No one's really getting out in this so I figured I'd come back up here and be with my family." He laughed, then forced his way between Raphael and Becky, squeezing on to the mattress with them. "So, what fun are we going to have today?"

Becky exchanged looks with Raphael, then watched as Raphael stood up, grabbed Michelangelo, held him over his head and carried him into the living room. Becky came into the room screaming "no!" just as Raphael dropped Michelangelo hard on the worn old couch from Casey's bachelor days. Michelangelo bounced off the couch and onto the floor. "Wrestle-mania!" Raphael and Michelangelo yelled at the same time before chasing each other around the room.

With a look of pure horror on her face, Becky put her arms out between the brothers. "Wait, no. No fighting in here guys. It's too small of a room." Her words went ignored as Michelangelo leaped from Raphael, knocking him and the lamp to the ground. The lamp shattered to pieces as it fell, but the shards of ceramic pieces didn't stop the brothers from rolling around on the floor.

Trying again to get between the two turtles, Becky found herself knocked to the ground by one of their legs. Before she could stand up, Michelangelo grabbed Raphael, tossing him into the coffee table. The wood of the old table splintered and the whole thing collapsed. Just before the table could land on her, Becky was pulled away from the destruction by a pair of green hands.

Looking up into Donatello's warm brown eyes, she smiled her thanks for his quick reflexes. Pulling her back to her feet, Donatello held on to her hand long enough to remove her from the room. "Those two will be at it for hours," he said, shaking his head as the sound of another piece of furniture breaking filled the air. "Without Splinter or Leonardo here to stop them, they both revert back to teenagers. It's quite pitiful."

"You're their older brother. Can't you stop them?"

Donatello laughed. It had been so long since she'd heard that sound from him that Becky had to look up to make sure she heard him correctly. "I'm the geeky, nerd Becky. The second I try to stop them, they'd gang up on me and find some way to give me a turtle wedgie. I'm better off staying out of it."

She smiled as her mind raced through how a turtle wedgie might work. Deciding it was probably best that she didn't know, she pushed the thought from her mind, replacing it with the happy knowledge that Donatello was talking to her, and wasn't yelling profanities towards her. It had been way too long since that had happened.

He smiled back at her, his eyes staring into hers. Neither said anything, nor made any movements to get away from each other. They simply stood in the hallway of the apartment, gazing longingly into one another's eyes. She felt her heartbeat race, and wondered if his was, too.

In her mind, she wished for him to lean over and kiss her, but in reality she knew it would be a mistake. Then again, some mistakes were worth making. Then she reminded herself that she was a strong woman, and that even if he didn't kiss her, she could always kiss him. But what if he didn't want to kiss her, and he backed away from her? No, that wasn't a risk she was willing to take. So instead, she kept staring at him, waiting for him to do or say something. Anything.

"So, um, I better, um go. I've got some work to do."

She bit into her lip, wishing he'd said something else. "Um, yeah, sure. I'm going to go back to the room and hide from the wrestling twins."

Brushing their arms against each other as they passed to go their separate ways, Becky couldn't help but believe he'd done it on purpose. There was plenty of room in that hallway to have avoided contact, but she wasn't going to complain. The goosebumps rising on her arms gave away that she'd liked being that close to him, and she was hopeful he didn't notice.

Slamming the door to Michelangelo's room behind him, Donatello let out a long breath, not sure how he'd been able to hold it. He'd seen his brothers wrestling around on the floor, and it was one of those scary slow-motion moments when he saw that table crashing down, so close to Becky. Too close. Memories of the junkyard and flying pieces of flaming debris replayed in his mind and he violently shook his head to get them to stop. He was so thankful to have made it to her in time once more, and even more thankful that she'd spent even just a little bit of time with him.

Being back in her old room again, seeing the window he'd come through hundreds of times to visit her, remembering every inch of how her room once looked, it brought back so many memories. The sconces on the wall, the spot where he told her he loved her for the first time, the bed where he'd given himself to her for the first time. So many memories rushed back to him, that he found himself falling against Michelangelo's bed.

He missed his Becky. While it was true that the girl was just in the other room, she wasn't the same girl that had left him so long ago. Even though she was slowly going back to her softer, kinder ways than when Raphael had brought her back, her mouth more fowl than a sailor's, she still wasn't his.

Every once in awhile, like just moments ago in the hall, he would see glimmers of his girl come to the surface, but all too quickly, she was gone again. It made his heart hurt. Maybe, just maybe being back in the old apartment would bring her back for good, but even the romantic that he was, he just couldn't bring himself to hope too much for that.

Leaning back against the wall, he grabbed his laptop to check on the lair. The readings showed that the electricity had been restored, but something in him wasn't ready to go back. A small little ray of hope clung to his mind as he decided not to tell his family that they could go back to the sewers. Instead, he wanted to wait a few days more just to see if this old apartment could make a miracle happen after all.


	9. Chapter 8

Shredder eyed his screens, watching as the dot flashed in front of him. The tracking device in his niece's arm had been too silent the past few months, but finally she had emerged from the sewers and could be tracked. Checking the gps map, he realized that she had gone back to her old apartment building, but he couldn't tell for sure if she were alone, or if she had her annoying green friends in tow.

Pressing his fingers together, he called to one of his minions to keep an eye on the screen and if the girl didn't leave the premises within the next few hours, to alert him at once. If the turtles were with her, she'd stay where she was instead of running back to the sewers to remain hidden with them. With hope that luck was finally on his side, Shredder went back to his quarters to rest before sending his foot soldiers out to capture the turtles. Once and for all.


End file.
